


Sleight of Hand

by Electra126



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/F, season 3 re-write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-18 19:19:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 96,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8172967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Electra126/pseuds/Electra126
Summary: Buffy decides to take fate into her own hands when a vision reveals Faith's gruesome and untimely demise while working for the Mayor.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was started June 30th 2009 and finished on February 11th 2011. There are thirty chapters total and I'll post them here a bunch at a time until they're all up. If you're reading along and enjoying, let me know! It's over five years later and I'm still toying with starting the sequel I'd planned, tentatively called Twist of Fate. Yes, both titles come from a U2 song :)
> 
> Just a heads up: This one starts out a bit weird, but give it a shot! I promise, it all adds up in the end.

**Prologue:**

The Watcher's Council had never spared any expense when it came to the many branches of their establishment. They prided themselves on their offices decorated with rich mahogany desks placed atop marble floors, Italian leather sofas and chairs, rare antiquities adorning the walls, and floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with even the rarest of books and scrolls that made the Smithsonian look like a high school library.

Such luxuries were never afforded when it came to the sisters, however; three decrepit old women who no longer aged and instead slowly festered. They hadn't been much to look at even when the Council had brought them in four hundred years before and time had not been kind to them in that regard. 

The sisters didn't care, however. They owned no mirrors and wouldn't allow any brought into their subterranean den. The jagged and uneven stone walls were covered in moss and candle wax where tapered white candles had spilled over their remains. There were no beds as the sisters never slept; instead they lay on the floor in drug-induced hypnotic states, waiting for the visions to come. 

Forget the fact that one of the sisters had no eyes and couldn't see the visions and that one of the other sisters had no ears and couldn't hear them. Also ignore the fact that the third sister had no tongue and couldn't speak the visions. None of that mattered. What did matter was that it took all three of them to receive and decipher the vision and that there was only one person they could share the visions with: 

The Head of the Council. 

It was a pact that had been forged with blood centuries back and had never yet been broken. 

Quentin Travers left the comfort of his office and headed to the lower level of the building where records and unimportant antiquities were kept. His black leather loafers scratched along the dusty granite floors as he made his way down a torch-lit stone corridor. Artificial light wasn't permitted in the vicinity of the sisters, whose den lay at the end of said corridor. 

He didn't bother to knock; they knew that he was coming before he'd even left his office. It was somewhat difficult to take three precognitive witches by surprise, especially when the tongueless sister had used her mind-gift to call to him. 

The heavy stone door swung back with minimal effort, giving him ample leeway to enter the dim room. He walked in and stood just inside of the doorway, preparing himself for the encounter. No matter how many times he had personally visited the sisters, the experience never got less unpleasant and creepy. 

"He comes seeking knowledge," the earless witch, Syntyche, began, her wide eyes focused on the ceiling as she lay on the ground on her back. 

"Then knowledge he shall have," the eyeless witch, Hypatia, said blankly, her body twitching as she continued to receive a vision. 

The tongueless sister, Euphemia, lay on the hard ground between them, her body twitching in a similar manner. It took her a few moments of trying before she finally managed to sit up. Her crystal blue eyes had a pallid film over them which Quentin never quite got used to seeing. He stood as still as possible, trying not to outwardly show his disgust for the three women. 

Euphemia approached him, her long disheveled silver and black hair tickling the back of her heels as she walked. Quentin braced himself, waiting for the connection. When Euphemia finally reached him, she grabbed a wooden pipe from a stone slab and put it to her mouth, inhaling deeply. Without warning she blew the smoke out and right into Quentin's face, making him splutter unattractively. 

When the smoke cleared and the coughing fit was over, Quentin opened his now white film-covered eyes and looked to the three sisters who were once again laying back on the floor, twitching. 

"Show me what you see," he said, his voice far off and raspy. 

"You have lost control of your slayers," Hypatia began. "The elder is no longer your concern. She has already passed on the lineage to the other." 

"It is the other who you need to worry about," Syntyche continued. "She has harmed a human and suffers for it." 

"It's a war out there. Humans get hurt from time to time," Quentin said blankly, his eyes focused on the vision that was being sent to him. 

"Yes, but she will soon make a choice and she will be lost to you." 

"What choice?" Quentin asked. 

It was then that the vision flashed before his eyes, making him gasp quietly. Faith was at the professor's. They were speaking. There was a knife in her hand. 

"Murder," Syntyche hissed. 

"Death!" Hypatia yelled. 

_"Kill,"_ Euphemia said using her mind gift. 

There was a long pause as Quentin watched the vision replay over and over. "Can she be rehabilitated?" 

_"No,"_ all three sisters replied simultaneously. 

"Not by you," Hypatia clarified. 

"Then I have only one option," Quentin said grimly, shaking his head until he had rid it of the image. He turned around without so much as another word, leaving a paper-wrapped package behind on the stone slab before he left the room. 

"Murder." 

"Death!" 

_"Kill."_

********************

  
Across the ocean half a world away, Buffy awoke with a start in the middle of her English class. She'd been dreaming of Brad Pitt taking her on a motorcycle ride across the desert when the dream shifted. Suddenly she was at the house of a man she'd never seen before, wondering exactly why Faith was there and why she had her knife out. 

She never got to find out why the girl was there though; three men in black came running through the door, completely taking Faith by surprise. There was no fight, not even a scuffle. Three loud shots rang through the apartment and Faith fell to the floor, the look of pure shock never leaving her face even after her body was still. 

It wasn't just a dream, it was something more. Buffy still felt the adrenaline racing through her body, the ever potent connection that connected her to Faith still tickling at the bottom of her spine. Faith was still in Sunnydale, still connected to her despite the fact that they were playing for different sides now. 

That feeling had disappeared in the dream though, completely severed. It was a sign of something. Something bad. 

Ignoring the weird looks she was getting from her fellow students and the angry shouts from her teacher, she quickly gathered her books and ran out of the room, heading for the library. She needed to find Giles. 

She needed to find Faith.


	2. Two

Buffy sighed with relief as she walked through the large double doors and found the library familiarly empty. There was no way she could get into weird slayer type dreams when any other students were around. They already thought she was weird enough; the last thing she needed was for them to believe that she was getting some kind of weird dream-counseling from the school librarian.

"Giles!" she called out, unceremoniously dropping her backpack onto a nearby table as she passed and headed toward his office. 

"Buffy?" Giles called out as he peeked out from his office. He placed the sandwich he'd been eating back on a paper napkin and stood up, making sure he was tidy and presentable. "Shouldn't you be in English class?" 

"I should, and Mrs. Neary is so going to call my mom and blow me in for leaving but . . . I had to. So I was sleeping, right? And I was having this great dream. I'm talking Brad Pitt in leather pants, motorcycle ride across the desert; you know, the stuff teenage female fantasies are made of." 

"Buffy, I know it's not my place to scold you in regards to academic matters but perhaps you should try to pay more attention in class and save the naps for after graduation." 

"Giles, is there any way we could postpone the lecture until, oh, I don't know, never? English is an easy A. Besides, the dream took an interesting turn into slayer territory and I think it's something that might be worth putting on our research hats for." 

"If you're suggesting research, I know it must be something truly horrific. What kind of evil did you see this time?" he asked, somewhat amused. 

Buffy looked down at her hands which suddenly began to fidget nervously with the bottom of her shirt. Taking a deep breath, she looked back up at Giles, a serious look upon her face. 

"Faith." 

Giles didn't smile or laugh or get angry or let on that he was feeling any emotion in particular except for the small hint of concern across his features as he sat down on his old wooden chair and folded his hands over his stomach. 

"And what did you dream about Faith?" he asked quietly, his concern a bit more noticeable now. 

"I don't know where she was. It was someone's house, there was an older man there. She had a knife in her hand and it looked like she was going to use it. Never got the chance though. Three men dressed all in black charged in with big nasty guns. Faith didn't make it." Buffy's voice was low and quiet and, despite the fact that Faith had switched sides shortly after Finch's death, it was still obvious that she was concerned about the girl. 

"I see," Giles said, taking a moment to form his thoughts. "Perhaps it was just a dream, Buffy. Faith was a big part of your life – all of our lives -- until recently. I wouldn't be surprised if your psyche is finding ways to punish her for the anger you still feel toward her." 

"It's not so much anger as it is . . . disappointment," Buffy said, choosing her words carefully as she sat down on a wooden chair opposite Giles. "Don't get me wrong, I have anger aplenty. Faith was stupid to go to the Mayor and even stupider to think she could get away with trying to play both sides. I don't think a severe case of disappointment would make me want to see her die though, even in a dream." 

"Was there anything else to suggest that maybe it was a slayer dream or a prophetic vision of some type?" 

"I can feel Faith. I don't know how to explain it other than it's some kind of slayer bond. Now I don't know where she is or what she's doing, but I know she's there; I feel the connection. Even when I don't want to feel it, it's there. I felt it in the dream, clear as I can right now, but when those guys shot her and she . . ." Buffy stopped herself, unable to finish that sentence, ". . . I couldn't feel her anymore, Giles." 

The tension and concern between them was palpable. Both Giles and Buffy were concerned for Faith; who wasn't? She went from a shitty situation before Sunnydale to an even shittier situation while there, and no one had paid that any attention until it was too late. And that's why things were suddenly tense; it was too late. Faith had switched sides; went to the Mayor, and wasn't looking back. Even if they wanted to help her now, how could they go about doing that when their help was the last thing she would ever accept. 

"I suppose we could read some of the old slayer diaries. Several former slayers wrote about prophetic dreams. Perhaps we could make some sense of this if we had a better insight to how the dreams work." 

"That's as good a place to start as any," Buffy said as she stood up. "I'll wait for Willow outside of class and fill her in so she can help. I'll be back though; there's something I need to take care of first." 

She turned to leave but stopped when she heard Giles tentatively call her name. He understood what she needed to do; he just wasn't sure it was the best idea right now. 

"It might be in your best interest to postpone any contact with Faith. If she's had a similar dream she might believe you're somehow involved. It would be best to avoid any physical altercations for the moment, at least until we can get a handle on the situation." 

Buffy mulled it over for a few moments, her hands still working nervously on the hem of her shirt. She finally made eye contact with Giles again, a regretful look on her face. 

"I know. I . . . just humor me Giles, okay? I'll be safe and if she decides she needs to get punchy, I'll run. I have no intention of fighting her." 

Giles studied her for a minute before nodding, then watched her turn around and make her way toward the exit, grabbing her backpack from the table on her way out. When he was certain that he was alone, he picked up the phone and dialed a long series of numbers and waited patiently for the call to connect. 

_"Travers here."_

"Hello, Quentin," Giles said, a bitter smile on his face. 

_"Rupert. To what do I owe the pleasure?"_ His sarcasm wasn't lost on Giles. 

"I was hoping you wouldn't mind telling me why you're sending a Council assassination squad here to do your dirty work?" 

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before Quentin answered, 

_"Those details are classified. The only thing you need to know is that the situation in Sunnydale is out of control and measures must be taken."_

"Buffy has seen what's going to happen and I can tell you without any degree of uncertainty that she intends to prevent it." 

_"Then let me give you a warning, Rupert, seeing as that we're old friends: keep a tight leash on your slayer. My men won't hesitate to eliminate her if she interferes with their mission in any way. Just sit back and remain uninvolved if you wish Miss Summers to remain unharmed."_

The line went dead then and Giles slammed the phone back on the hook, more concerned now than ever. Buffy's life could now be in danger as well. He knew better than anyone that once she was focused on something, there was no turning her back. 

There wasn't much time now and things were only going to get more complicated. He needed to figure this out. He needed to save Faith. 

He needed to save Buffy. 

* * *

Quentin looked up from his desk at the three men who'd just witnessed the phone conversation. He gazed up and looked all three of them in the eyes individually, conveying the seriousness of the situation with just a simple look. 

"You know what to do. Don't let me down," he told them as the three men stood and left his office, their long black coats swaying behind them. 

* * *

Buffy pounded on the door of Faith's hotel room for the third time in a row now. If Faith was inside, she was certainly going to be pissed off when she opened the door. 

"You're wasting your time, you know," came a voice from just to her left. Buffy looked over to see a middle-aged man with a dirty white wife-beater pulled over his beer belly and a pair of torn up sweat pants on, leering at her from the next doorway down. "That little piece o' pie ain't stayed here all week." 

"Did she move?" Buffy asked, confused and slightly creeped out. 

"Don't know. She ain't been stayin' here though. Comes by now and again to pick up some stuff but never stays long." 

"Uh, thanks," Buffy said, offering the man a quick smile before hastily jogging down the steps and as far away from him as she could get. 

If Faith wasn't staying there, where the hell was she staying? It was highly unlikely that the Mayor was letting her stay at his house. Imagine the public scandal if people found out he had a teenage runaway living in his house. No, the Mayor was smarter than that. He'd have her stashed someplace else. All Buffy had to do was check the hundreds upon hundreds of residences in Sunnydale and try to find the Faith in the haystack, or something vaguely like that. 

It seemed hopeless, and it probably would have been to anyone that wasn't her. But like Buffy had explained to Giles earlier, she had some kind of connection with Faith. If she could just focus and open up that connection, she might be able to pinpoint exactly where the girl was hiding. 

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Buffy focused on the hum that traveled from the base of her spine to the tips of her fingers. It was always quiet, subdued, something she could – and did – shut out when she'd wanted to. But focusing on it, drowning out her other senses and focusing only on that pull, she felt it stronger than ever. Her scalp prickled and the tiniest of a smile crept up on her lips. 

She opened her eyes and began to walk, where to she wasn't sure, but she knew that her feet were leading her to Faith. She only hoped that Faith wouldn't run in the opposite direction. 

* * *

The three sisters lay prone on the stone floor, smoke from an old pipe billowing from a stone table beside them. 

Euphemia suddenly tensed up, her body trembling gently as her eyes stared at some far away place. A guttural sound came from her throat, alerting her sisters to the vision she was having. 

Syntyche watched and Hypatia listened, their bodies twitching as they began to receive the vision. 

"It has begun," Hypatia announced. 

Events had been set into action. The only thing left to do was sit back and watch them play out as they had in their vision. They only wondered if the vision they'd sent to the blonde slayer would effect the outcome. 

Sometimes toying with fate was their only form of entertainment.


	3. Three

Buffy followed the hum of the slayer connection, not knowing where she was headed but only that it was in Faith's general direction. She could tell that much; the hum was getting stronger and stronger with each step she took. She was almost blown away by how strong the connection was now that she'd truly opened herself up to it. Had Faith felt this all along?

Soon she found herself wandering through the heart of Sunnydale. The shops and businesses were all pretty busy and would only get busier when the high school let the students out for the day. If she was going to find Faith, it was now or never.

Or, yunno . . . at least not until she could cut class again without too much grief.

Still, she was determined to find the girl today. She wasn't sure why the Slayery Powers had decided to show her Faith's untimely and gruesome demise, but she knew she had to do something about it. Of course, working without a time frame was a bit of an issue but she was still resolute in her desire to prevent it.

Her feet led her down a slightly less busy street with tall buildings lined up on either side of it. The feel of imaginary fingers caressing the back of her neck and spine let her know that she was close. Crazy close. And even if the slayer connection hadn't been there? The blaring Nine Inch Nails music from the building just off to her left was pretty much a dead giveaway.

If Faith was inside, no way could she sense Buffy. The music was way too loud to let her feel anything but temporarily deaf, probably.

Glancing around to make sure that she wasn't being watched, Buffy made her way to the door that led upstairs to the private residence. She took the stairs two at a time but slowly and cautiously, listening for any sign that Faith knew she was there. The music remained loud and obnoxious, just the way Faith liked it.

For a brief moment Buffy's mind flashed back to a time when she'd enjoyed the loud obnoxious music, her fingers entwined with Faith's as they'd danced the night away. It felt like a new beginning for them, but then things had gone so terribly wrong.

Finch's death had been an accident. Buffy knew that much. She believed that had they come right out and told Giles, they would have dealt with things as groups of friends do. Everything could have been fine. Damn Faith and her inability to trust, Buffy thought. And of course, that had led to the ultimate betrayal.

Would the Mayor have goons watching Faith's apartment? Were they in there with her right now? Between the loud music and the slayer connection, Buffy's senses were running amok and she had no idea if she was walking into some kind of horrible death trap. She paused at the door to the apartment, pondering for the first time if it had been a mistake seeking Faith out.

She didn't get to ponder it for too long though. Within a few moments of her standing there, the music stopped suddenly and she heard footsteps within the apartment.

"You gonna wait out there all day or are you gonna come in here so we can settle this once and for all?" came a voice from the other side of the door.

Faith's voice.

Steeling herself, Buffy took a deep breath and turned the door knob, unsurprised to find it unlocked. Faith had felt her all along and knew she was coming. Buffy stepped into the apartment and looked around, wondering where Faith had wandered off to. She left the door open behind her just in case she needed an easy escape route.

Buffy waited just on the inside of the doorway, not wanting to go any further into the apartment until she knew exactly how Faith was going to react to her presence. Clearly the girl thought they were about to fight; now to determine if it would be face to face or if Faith was going to try to catch her off guard.

And catch Buffy off guard she certainly did.

Faith came walking out from the bathroom wrapped only in a big black towel with her wet hair hanging over her shoulders. Drops of water cascaded down her chest and into the confines of the towel and when Buffy realized she was watching them fall, she quickly overcompensated and looked up at the ceiling.

"Damn. Look at you using those slayer senses. Pretty cool when you finally give in to the power, isn't it?" Seeing the unamused look on Buffy's face, Faith continued. "I realize it's about time we throw down and all but do ya think ya can give me ten minutes to get dressed, dry my hair? I'd at least like to leave a pretty corpse behind."

"I have no intention of killing you, despite the fact that I think you make some very stupid, stupid mistakes," Buffy said evenly, once again finding Faith's eyes.

"Maybe I'm not the one makin' mistakes. Maybe it wasn't my corpse I was talkin' about," Faith said slowly, inching closer and closer to Buffy.

"I'm not here to fight," Buffy said, trying to remain as unthreatening as possible despite the way the slayer within her was coiling up and readying to lash out.

"Yeah right. You just here to ogle my goodies then, B?"

Faith was getting closer and closer and Buffy tried her best to hold her ground but there was such a thing as too close, especially when dealing with a loose cannon like Faith. Unconsciously, she took a step backwards and she knew it was a big mistake. Faith noticed and grinned a little wider, a little crueler. 

"People only ever come to see me for three reasons, B, the three F's: fighting, fun, or fucking. You ain't here to fight, or at least that's what you're tryin' to tell me. Pretty sure you ain't here to take me for a ride either cos – let's face facts here – you're a little too vanilla and hey, you blew that chance a long time ago. So how ‘bout we have us a little fun?" 

"I'm not interested in any of your three F's, F," Buffy said, still taking steps back as Faith advanced. "I've got a different F for you: facts. I had a slayer dream, or at least I think that's what it was."

"Lucky you."

"I'm not sure I'd categorize it as lucky. I saw you die."

"Ah, so you are here to fight then. Damn, that was quick. Didn't think the Powers would take me outta the loop that fast. You really are their golden girl, B."

"That's bullshit and you know it," Buffy said angrily.

"What is?"

"All of it!" Buffy yelled. "I'm not here to fight, I'm not their golden girl, and you're the one who took yourself out of the loop! Do you think I want to be here, Faith? You're sleeping with the enemy yet here I am, trying to warn you or help you or . . . something!"

"Did I ask you for your help?" Faith asked, her voice dangerous and low as she continued approaching Buffy. 

Buffy continued to step back, stopping when she felt her heels rest dangerously on the top of the stairs. 

"No, but . . ."

"No but's. We're not friends, Buffy. You stay the fuck away from me and next time you plan on killin' me? Might not wanna give me a heads up. Crazy thing? I might not have much to live for but no way am I gonna lay down and die for a prissy little self-righteous bitch."

Buffy was going to reply, to yell back in anger, but the door slamming in her face and sending her down two stairs quickly stopped her. She tried the door knob again but it was locked. She banged on the door but suddenly the music started back up, drowning her completely out.

"Faith!" Buffy called and the music turned up even louder. "Faith! Listen to me!"

Again the music rose and Buffy was pretty sure that either the windows or her teeth were about to shatter from the vibrations. Still, slayer hearing was a bitch and sometimes there was no drowning out even the most unwanted sounds.

"Faith, don't leave your apartment," she shouted. "Don't go anywhere that you don't already know. I'm still not sure exactly what I saw or why I saw it, but I know I saw you die!"

She waited for an answer, some kind of acknowledgement that Faith had heard her. Understandably, she was shocked when the door opened. She was even more shocked, however, when a still-naked leg came flying at her and a foot caught her right in the middle of the chest, sending her flying backwards down the remaining twelve steps.

Buffy barely heard the loud thud she made as she landed firmly on her ass just in front of the lower door, nor did she hear the upper door slam shut a few moments later; she only heard the resounding laughter coming from the sneaky ninja kicker inside the apartment. 

Alright, so things hadn't gone as well as she'd planned. No, that was a lie; she never had a plan. She had just hoped to hell that Faith would listen and be reasonable. Yeah, fat chance. But hey, things didn't go as badly as they could have. Her ego was bruised – and her ass was too – but she was alive. Faith was alive, at least for the moment. And hey, at least she knew where the girl lived now.

It was time to regroup and approach this from a different angle, and she had to work fast because time, it seemed, was not on her side.

* * *

It was nearly an hour later when Buffy made her way back into the library with one of her hands rubbing her sore bottom. Giles watched her with interest as she walked past the table her friends were sitting at, ignoring them as she made her way into his office. A few moments later she appeared with a large ice pack which she placed down on a chair before ever so gingerly sitting down on it.

All eyebrows were raised as she finally looked up at her friends. Xander was trying his best not to smirk but couldn't help it.

"Before anyone asks, no – Faith did not kick my butt." She waited until her friends sighed with relief to rush out, "She kicked my chest and I fell onto my butt."

"She engaged you in combat?" Giles asked, concerned.

"Not exactly. We argued. She closed the door, I kept talking, and then she kicked me out. Literally."

"Buff, you're not exactly vertically gifted. You fell like, three feet, tops," Xander said.

"Did I mention that I was standing at the top of a staircase when she kicked me?"

A chorus of ooh's and doh's followed and Buffy winced as she shifted positions on the chair. 

"Since when does her motel have stairs?" Xander asked. 

"The motel doesn't. The new place the Mayor is putting her up in does. It's in downtown Sunnydale. If I'd known all it would take to get her on our side was a swanky new place to stay, I would've been apartment shopping months ago."

Buffy tried to hide the look of regret she knew was on her face and Willow tried to ignore it for Buffy's sake; she knew her friend didn't want to talk about the crummy past at the moment.

"Did you have a chance to tell her about the dream before she sent you airborne?" Willow asked, having been fully debriefed by Giles.

"I was in the process of shouting it through her door when I got the boot. Or the foot, actually."

"Do you think it would be worth your time to pursue the matter further?" Giles asked, sitting forward in his chair with his elbows on his knees and his hands wringing together.

Buffy could only shrug. Did she really think Faith was going to listen to her? No, it was too late for friendly warnings and that kind of trust between them. But was she going to give up? How could she? Not when she knew how the story ended.

"Whether we're angry or hurt by Faith, saving people is what I do. What _we_ do. I don't know who the men are or why they're gonna kill her, but I know that she doesn't deserve to be taken down like that; by cowards with guns."

"Maybe we should all go back to her place as a group," Willow suggested. "You know I'm not in the Faith Fan Club but maybe all of us being there would, you know, show her that we want to help."

"Or maybe she'll think we're some kind of deranged teenage lynch mob," Xander added, not at all liking the idea.

"The only place I'm headed tonight is home to soak in a nice hot bath," Buffy said. "I should be back to par by tomorrow and we can try then." She winced as she stood up from the chair, hissing through her teeth in pain.

Faith wasn't even around and she still figured out a way to be a pain in her ass. Go figure.

"Buffy, perhaps waiting until tomorrow isn't the best idea at the moment," Giles said quietly, holding her gaze nervously as the girl turned around and looked at him.

"Why? What aren't you telling me?" She asked, carefully studying his face.

Giles looked down at his hands, then back up to Buffy's face. He looked nervous, guilty, and apologetic all at the same time and Buffy just knew that he was about to drop a bombshell on her.

"Your dream wasn't a coincidence; it was a vision. Events have begun that will lead to Faith's demise."

Buffy stared at him long and hard, trying to remember the fact that he was attempting to help her and not about the last time he withheld information about the council from her. 

"Explain?" Buffy asked, her jaw clenched tightly.

"The vision was sent to you by a coven of seers under the council's command. They've shared their visions with the council for hundreds of years. Quentin Travers has seen it and he's sent a team of assassins to eliminate Faith and restore order among their charges."

A tense silence filled the air as Buffy stared at Giles, her friends exchanging glances between each other as they witnessed the showdown.

"How long do I have?" she finally asked.

"They'll be in Sunnydale by tomorrow morning."


	4. Four

Buffy continued to glare at Giles, fighting every instinct she had not to yell or lash out in any way. Anger and violence weren't going to get her answers, especially when it came to Giles. Fighting back her knee-jerk reaction, she took a deep breath and exhaled it through her nose before speaking again.

"Why didn't you say anything about these seers or the council when I brought this up earlier? You could have saved my ass. Literally." 

"I'd had a hunch but I wasn't certain, so while you were out I made a phone call. Quentin Travers has basically confirmed my suspicions with his unwillingness to share more information." 

"Seems to me like he's not the only one unwilling to share information," Buffy said bitterly. 

"Buffy, please," Giles pleaded. When she relaxed again, he continued. "The men you described in your vision are a typical Council assassination squad. The fact that they were carrying guns and going after a slayer was enough confirmation of that. Quentin wouldn't have sent them on his own; Council protocol is to rehabilitate and re-train difficult slayers. So when I spoke with him, I put together two and two. The seers – they've shared a vision with him. They've shown him the path to take and events have been put into action that will result in the vision coming to fruition." 

"But I don't understand why," Buffy said, exasperated. "So Faith's gone a little coo coo for cocoa puffs. Why would Travers suddenly agree to ignore protocol and have her killed?" 

"Because it's what the seers showed him." 

"And we're suddenly trusting a group of crazy old ladies…why?" 

"They've been with the Council for more years than I'm aware of; centuries, I believe. They receive visions and they transmit them to whomever runs the Council. Once the vision is passed, it is the duty of the Council Head to carry out whatever the vision depicts." 

"Here's a fun and interesting fact: Buffy's not the Council Head," Xander chimed in. 

"Very true. My head is Council-less," Buffy confirmed with a nod. 

"That's correct, but this isn't the first time that the sisters have shared a vision with another. I suppose that they can't control which visions they receive from The Powers That Be. Perhaps they sent the vision to you, Buffy, so that you could try to prevent it. It's their duty to report to the Council Head, but it's not their duty to find said vision agreeable." 

"So what, they hijacked my brainwaves and hooked me up with Disturb-o-vision thinking I'd swoop on in and save they day?" 

"It appears that way, yes," Giles replied simply. 

"But why would they do that? Don't they know that Faith and I aren't exactly standing on the same side of the proverbial chalk line in the schoolyard?" 

"You're a good person with a good heart. I'm sure that's not old news to The Powers That Be. No one else is going to step in to save Faith. It's up to you, Buffy, and the sisters knew that." 

Silence descended on the room as everyone looked at Buffy and waited for some kind of reaction. She continued to stare at Giles, wishing that things would be less muddled and confused. Her life was always muddled and confusing though, so why should this be any different. 

"Buff?" Willow said, unable to take the silence any longer. 

Shaking her head slightly, Buffy looked over at Willow and offered her a tiny, comforting smile. 

"I'm okay, Wills. And nothing bad is going to happen to Faith. Duty or not, I can't just let things play out like they're supposed to." 

"So what's the plan?" Willow asked. If it meant keeping Buffy safe, she'd be willing to help out in any way, even if it meant bringing Faith back into the fold again. 

"Try, try, and try again," Buffy replied as she began to walk very gingerly toward the weapons cage. 

"Don't you think it's a little dangerous going alone?" 

Buffy took one of the weapons from the cabinet and tucked it safely under her jacket, hidden away so that not even Faith would see it. Willow's eyes widened as she saw what Buffy grabbed. 

"I think it would be more dangerous if you guys knew what I might have to do," Buffy explained. "It's probably best if you stay together tonight, safety in numbers. We'll need to make a plan about what we do if she cooperates." 

"And if she doesn't?" 

Buffy was silent, gazing down at her shoes for a few moments before looking back up at her friends. "Just make a plan." 

She didn't want to think about the alternative. 

* * *

The music at the Bronze was thumping loudly as Buffy entered but not even the brain-numbing sound was enough to block out the feel of the slayer connection. Faith hadn't shut her out which gave Buffy the tiniest bit of hope. Maybe the girl was hoping that Buffy would try again. Maybe she really did want to be helped but didn't know how to ask for it. 

Or maybe it was some kind of elaborate trap. 

Cautiously looking around the club, Buffy momentarily dismissed the elaborate trap idea and decided to be optimistic. Seeing as that Faith hadn't run out of the club yet and continued to dance away seemingly without a care, Buffy could only take that as a good sign. 

She walked over to the bar and rested her elbow against it, her eyes trained on the dancing brunette. She barely registered the bartender that walked over and followed her line of sight, smiling at what he saw ahead of him. 

"She's a regular," he said, his gaze never leaving Faith's form. "Comes in here late at night, asks us to play the music loud, and dances her ass off ‘til we shut down." 

"It's not exactly late," Buffy said, looking over at him and feeling just a twinge of anger at the way he was practically drooling over Faith. 

"Guess today's special then." 

"Oh yeah, real special," Buffy said, rolling her eyes quickly. 

Her sarcasm wasn't lost on the bartender who finally looked over at her, remembering his job. 

"What can I get you?" 

"Diet soda, please." 

He quickly pulled a clear plastic cup from behind the bar and filled it up with diet soda, refusing Buffy's money when she placed it on the bar. She left it anyway, not wanting a freebie from a guy like that. Nothing was ever free when it came to creepers. 

She turned around, ready to head to the dance floor when she noticed that Faith was no longer there. The slayer connection was still as strong as ever though so she knew that the girl had to be lurking around somewhere. A cheering noise off to her side drew her attention and she looked over to see Faith at the pool table, stick in hand and collecting a wad of money from some guy she'd likely just scammed. 

Taking a sip of her soda followed by a deep breath, Buffy made her way over toward the pool table, waiting for the moment Faith would look up at her and she'd see everything she needed to know in those dark brown eyes. As if on cue, Faith suddenly scanned the crowd and their eyes met. Buffy tried to keep her cool, ignoring the way her butt seemed to ache just a little bit more when Faiths lips curled up into a grin. 

"Back for more so soon?" the brunette asked, trying to remain as nonchalant as possible. She took another shot on the table, sending a bright red ball flying into the pocket right where Buffy was standing. 

"What part of ‘I don't want to fight' are you having a problem understanding? My white flag is waving, Faith. I'm here to talk," Buffy said easily. 

"We don't talk, B. We fight. Longstanding history and all." 

She made her way around the table until she was standing next to Buffy and leaned down, taking another shot. Buffy knew that she was getting that close as a test; the girl wanted to test how serious she was about not fighting. 

"We've talked. We've talked a lot," Buffy tried. 

Faith straightened up and came face to face with Buffy, the same cruel smile on her face that she'd worn back at her new apartment. 

"I talked. You listened . . . sometimes. You never talked, B. Never wanted to share with me; nothing about you, or your past; hell, not even your friends. The time for talk is over." 

She leaned over the table and took another shot, her growing anger apparent as she sent the cue ball off the table and across the room. It hit a wall and shattered into a hundred pieces. 

"So I'll talk, you listen," Buffy said and quickly continued before she could be stopped. "The Powers That Be sent a vision to the Council in a weird, twisty kind of way. Long story short, Travers saw it and he's not interested in rehabbing you anymore. He's sending assassins; three men with guns." 

"And what makes you think I can't take them?" Faith asked casually as she stepped around Buffy to get to the other side of the table. She none-too-gently smacked Buffy's ass with her pool stick as she passed by, making Buffy yelp and give her an annoyed glare. 

" _Guns_ , Faith. Small weapons, shoot bullets? Is any of this ringing a bell?" 

"I'm not afraid of a couple of dicks with guns. I'll just lay low, they'll never find me." 

"And if they do?" Buffy asked, her eyes pleading with Faith to just be reasonable for once. 

Reason, however, was not on the menu for the night. 

"Then I'll take them out too." 

Said so easily. So nonchalantly. Like taking life was just an average everyday kind of thing for her. 

"Just like that?" 

"Just like that." 

And just like always, Faith chose that moment to walk away. She didn't want to start a brawl in the middle of the club and with the way their conversation was going, the was about to lose her temper at any moment. Resting her pool stick against the table, she casually strode through the club and out the back door, hoping to make a hasty retreat through the back alley then out the front where lots of people were probably loitering. 

Buffy watched the girl walk away for nearly a minute before she chased after her, nearly colliding into her back when she stepped out the back door. Faith quickly spun around, her eyes wide when she realized that it was Buffy who'd nearly crashed into her. 

"Listen, I'm sick of whatever kinda game you're tryin' to run here, B. Back the fuck off and let me handle my own shit. Ya never cared when I was in trouble before so why the fuck are you trying to be my buddy now?" 

Shoving Buffy back a few steps, she turned around and began walking through the alley. 

"Faith!" 

Buffy's voice calling after her caused Faith to slow down and eventually stop, keeping her back toward Buffy. When she finally made the decision to let Buffy say, well, whatever the hell she felt she needed to say, she felt a sharp jab to her buttcheek. She quickly looked over her shoulder at the stinging area on her ass to find a metal dart sticking out of her. She yanked it out and stared at it before tossing it to the ground and finally looking toward the shooter. 

Buffy stood with her legs spread shoulder-width apart and the small tranquilizer gun gripped tightly in both hands with it still pointed at the brunette. 

Faith reacted in the only way she knew how: she sprinted towards Buffy and lunged at her from several feet away, ignoring the second dart that pierced her upper thigh when she was airborne. She crashed into Buffy and tried her best to lash out as they landed with a thud on the hard pavement but her limbs were heavy, so very heavy, and she could barely keep her eyes open. 

Buffy watched as Faith finally succumbed to the tranquilizers and stopped her half-hearted struggling. When the girl was finally still, Buffy laid back and winced as a new blast of pain surged through her backside. Faith was draped over her and snoring slightly. There was no drool yet but she was pretty sure it would come soon if she stayed there like that. 

Using what felt like the last of her strength, she sat up with Faith in her arms and stood, trying to figure out what exactly she was supposed to do now. 

Cooperation: 0. Brute force: 1. 

This was going to be ugly.


	5. Five

The walk back to Buffy's house understandably took a bit longer with Faith's dead weight slowing her down. It was nearly dark out which she was grateful for because she had no idea how she'd explain away what she was doing to anyone who saw her carrying an unconscious teenager around.

She'd debated again and again where to go, unable to find anywhere that was completely safe. The Council knew where Giles lived and worked, so both his house and the library were out of the question. Willow and Xander's houses were out of the question because; well . . . no way did she trust that Faith would be all hunky-dory when she woke up.

No, the safest place was at her own home where she could watch over the girl through the night and not have to worry about her mother wondering where she was all night long. Joyce knew about their falling out and would more than likely support any of Buffy's attempts to make things right with Faith, especially if it meant saving Faith's life in the process. 

When she finally reached her house, she was surprised to find it dark. Her muscles were aching terribly and when she'd shifted Faith over her shoulder, she was pretty sure the girl started drooling down her back. 

"Oh, that's attractive," she grumbled as she walked up the front porch steps, grimacing when she felt the wet patch on her shirt clinging to her skin. 

She dug around in her pocket with her spare hand and produced her keys which jingled this way and that until she found the right key. Just as she got the key in the door, she heard a small noise from the street. She turned and saw her neighbor and his dog standing there, out for a walk and looking at her like she was crazy. 

"Darn kids these days," she quickly covered. "All that drinking and partying. So discouraging!" She shook her head in mock disappointment and quickly let herself into the house before he could reply in any way. 

Safely inside, she went to lean back against the door and stopped only when she heard the thud Faith's head made when it collided with the hard wood. 

"Oops!" she said and quickly turned, banging Faith's head into the coat rack as she spun around and toppling it to the ground. 

A still unconscious Faith groaned in her slumber and Buffy stayed completely still, waiting until she knew for sure that Faith was still sleeping until she started moving again. She walked into the living room and plopped Faith down on the couch, then stood up straight and cracked her back loudly. 

She started off toward the kitchen, sighing with relief that she was finally able to walk normally without the added weight of Faith. Heading straight for the refrigerator where she and Joyce often left notes for one another, she wasn't surprised to see a hastily scribbled note waiting for her. 

__Buffy,  
Dinner's in the fridge. I'll be home by 10:00. Try to squeeze some studying in, final exams are coming up.  
Love, Mom

Buffy smiled and pulled the note down, crumbling it up with one hand while opening the freezer with the other. She bypassed dinner altogether and went straight for a grape Popsicle which she easily unwrapped and slid into her mouth. Still unsure of what she was going to do with Faith, she picked up the phone and dialed an all-too-familiar phone number. The line rang three times before Giles picked up. 

"Giles, it's me. I have her."

_"Did she come without a fight?"_

Buffy snuck her head around the wall and took a peek at the still unconscious girl.

"In a word," she said vaguely. At Giles' continued silence, she finished, "Kind of hard to struggle while unconscious."

_"Are you both unharmed?"_

"For now, but I'm willing to bet she's gonna try to cause some serious carnage when she wakes up."

_"Perhaps it would be best if I were to join you. Together we might be able to . . ."_

"I don't think so, Giles. Not that I don't appreciate it, but the less people I have to worry about, the better. I'm gonna keep her here tonight and when she wakes, I'll see how cooperative she is."

_"If you decide to move her, it would be best done during the day. They believe they're lawless but even the Council won't pull anything in broad daylight."_

"We'll see about that," Buffy said forlornly. She wouldn't quite put anything past the Council these days. They knew better than to come to her house after she'd parted ways with them after the cruciamentum, but she knew that wouldn't stop them from following her around in her travels. "I'll talk to you soon."

_"Yes, call when she wakes. And Buffy? Please, take care."_

Buffy nodded even though she knew he couldn't see it and set the phone back on the receiver. She gave the Popsicle a couple of licks to collect the melting juice and then made her way back to the living room through the dining room. 

The coat rack was still on the floor so she bent to pick it up, placing the Popsicle in her mouth so that she could use both hands. Just as it was standing straight and the coats were hanging safely back on it, Buffy nearly inhaled the Popsicle when she saw someone standing up in the living room out of the corner of her eyes. She froze, waiting for Faith to lash out, but the attack never came. Taking a few tentative steps toward the living room, she flicked on the light to find Faith standing but still completely asleep. 

"You're a sleepwalker now?" Buffy asked aloud, frowning when she got no answer in response. Not that she'd actually expected an answer, but she wouldn't have put it past Faith to answer just to freak her out. 

She grumbled to herself and leaned over in front of Faith, putting her shoulder into Faith's abdomen so that she could hoist her up and carry her up the stairs. If she could just get the girl up in her room before her mom came home, she'd have time to explain things and try to get Joyce on her side. 

The walk up the stairs was slow and a bit unsteady but Buffy did it like a champ, even managing to continue eating her Popsicle along the way. She sighed with relief when she reached the top of the stairs and turned into her room, opting not to turn on the light. Her bed was neatly made and she gently laid Faith down on top of the blankets, not yet sure on how to handle the situation. 

Tranquilizers worked on slayers but not like they did on regular humans. She had no idea when or how Faith would wake up, but she knew she had to come up with some kind of a plan for when she did. She stood there and watched the sleeping slayer for a few minutes more, finishing the Popsicle while going over things in her head. 

The plan she came up with was a simple one: wait until Faith woke up, try to talk to her, reason with her, and then tranq her again if needed. 

Satisfied with her bad plan, she hung her jacket on the back of her bedroom door and was about to sit down at the chair in front of her vanity when she realized her hands were sticky from the Popsicle. As much as she didn't want to leave Faith unattended, the bathroom was just down the hall and she had a clear view down the hallway if Faith tried to escape. Not that she thought the girl would wake up anytime soon; she was still snoring away like a baby. 

Or like a grown man. Whatever. 

Taking one last glimpse at the girl, she headed down the hall to the bathroom, leaving her bedroom door wide open as she walked out. She turned the faucet on and waited for the water to run warm before putting her hands under it and rubbing them gingerly together. The handsoap smelled nice and felt great on her skin, lathering nicely until it looked like she was wearing a pair of bubble gloves. The thought made her smile and she laughed quietly to herself, pretending that she was a boxer and taking a few jabs at her reflection in the mirror. 

She laughed and shook her head as she rinsed the soap off. How old was she, ten? When she turned to wipe her hands on the towel, she nearly fell over when she saw Faith standing there, watching her with a scowl. 

"You shot me," Faith said through clenched teeth. 

"Weren't you just sleeping?" Buffy asked, trying to take a peek around Faith. What she was looking for, she had no idea, but it was better than looking at Faith's terrifying face right that moment. 

"You SHOT me," Faith said again, taking a step closer. 

Buffy instinctively took a step back, then mentally kicked herself at the way she so easily relented to Faith's menacing posture. 

"It was for your own good. I needed to get you someplace safe because you seemed so determined to take on three men with guns head on." 

"How the fuck do you know what's good for me, B? Honestly, I'd love to know. Enlighten me." 

Faith's voice was low and menacing and she continued to step forward, backing Buffy further and further into the bathroom. 

"Well, I generally like to think that anything that doesn't involve you getting yourself killed is good for you." 

"You stopped caring what happened to me the second something bad happened between us." 

"No I didn't," Buffy said with as much sincerity as possible. 

"Yes you fucking did!" Faith shouted, suddenly right up in her face as Buffy found her back against a wall. 

"I was mad but I never stopped caring!" Buffy finally yelled back, regaining some of the upper hand as she took a step forward and Faith took a step back. "We got into trouble - together - and we could've made it right, but you needed it to be a dark dirty secret. And then when things got rough, you pawned it off on me. Normal people don't do that, Faith!" 

"And we're not normal people, Buffy!" Faith screamed back.

Maybe they were screaming, but at least they were communicating. Maybe this was the way slayers communicated; loudly and with threatening gestures. 

"I was alone, B!" Faith yelled, her eyes wild. "You had the friends and the caring Watcher and I had the weenie that turned me in first chance he got. You wanna talk about self-preservation? The Council was gonna get rid of me then so I took the fuck off." 

"Yeah? Well the Council is coming after you again Faith, and here I am, offering to help you and go through this with you. All you have to do is fucking take my hand and we will go through this. _Together_."

"You're forgetting that I'm not alone anymore," Faith said, the evil grin on her face almost scaring Buffy. "I've got people on my side now."

"People that have you do their dirty work, Faith."

"And what's slaying? A nice, clean job? Different side of the same coin, B. I just go where I'm wanted." 

Buffy wanted to scream and punch some walls, and maybe punch Faith a little too if she was being perfectly honest with herself. She wouldn't do that though. Not now. Not when she had a chance of getting through to Faith.

"Slayers don't kill indiscriminately. We kill the bad guys and keep people safe. You can't do that when you're playing for the wrong team."

Faith offered her a sickeningly sweet smile then that literally made her stomach turn. Whatever came out of her mouth next wasn't going to be fun, that much was certain.

"Sounds to me like you're tryin to lure me back from the dark side. Make me see my wrongs and all the good stuff I'm missin'. Is that it? Huh?" When Buffy didn't say anything, Faith pressed on. "Gonna have to sweeten up the offer. C'mon, B. What can you offer me that the boss hasn't? Some cookies? A Scooby Welcome Back party? Hmm?"

Buffy knew that she shouldn't take Faith's bait but at this point, she needed to do anything she could to keep Faith right where she was. The Council assassins would be there by morning and she needed to keep her safe and off of their radar. Taking a deep breath, Buffy's shoulders slumped just enough for Faith to notice.

"What do you want to hear, Faith? That I want you back on our side? Then yes. I want you back, fighting for us rather than against us. You want a party? A place to stay? A puppy? I'll make it happen. Anything you want."

"Anything I want, hmm?" Faith said, approaching Buffy and making the girl step backward again. "Oh B, you know what I want."

Faith's hands were suddenly on Buffy's hips and Buffy's gaze flickered down before looking back up into her suddenly dark eyes. She hadn't been counting on that. Faith had always been a flirt but . . . this was too much. She couldn't give her that!

Could she?

She went to speak but was cut off by a pair of soft lips kissing her hard. It took her by surprise and she knew that it wasn't going to be that easy but she decided to go along with it just to see how far Faith was really going to go with this. She opened her mouth and kissed Faith back with everything she had, fighting back a whimper when Faith's tongue caressed hers. Faith seemed a bit surprised but pushed on, not fighting the way Buffy was trying to make the kiss less hard. Less forced.

Neither girl was sure who whimpered but suddenly Faith jumped back and was almost half way across the bathroom when Buffy finally managed to open her eyes.

"Sure are a good actor, B. Almost had me going for a minute there."

"What? Faith, I . . ."

Faith quickly moved and Buffy stopped speaking when she heard something whiz softly across the room. She looked down at her stomach and at the tranquilizer dart that was embedded in it, then up at Faith who was still standing with the tranq gun in her hands.

"Wait . . . Faith, don't . . ."

Another soft whiz sounded and Buffy felt a sharp sting in her shoulder. She sluggishly pulled the darts from her body and when she looked up, Faith's form was nothing but a blurry lump.

"E for Effort, Buff, but it's gonna take more than that."

Then Faith was gone and Buffy felt the cold ceramic tiles of the bathroom floor against her face before she drifted off into unconsciousness.


	6. Six

Buffy could vaguely hear someone shouting at her, but her head felt like it was packed with cotton and she couldn’t quite make out the words. She opened one heavy eyelid and then the other to find her mother hovering over her in a panic and gently shaking her shoulders.

“Buffy! Buffy, honey, can you hear me?”

“Mom?” Buffy replied groggily, her tongue feeling too thick for her mouth.

Suddenly there was a dart hovering in front of her face and she tried to focus on it while her mother danced it around to keep her focus on it.

“Poison or tranquilizer?”

“Tranq. Two of them,” Buffy managed as she sat up with her mother’s help, her head still swimming and vision spinning.

“Oh thank god,” Joyce replied and tossed the dart to the side so she could help Buffy to her feet. “Buffy, what happened here?”

Buffy knew that she could make up some kind of a lie about a rogue demon hunter or vamp seeking vengeance but knew that would only make her mother worried enough to possibly consider relocating them. She grunted with effort to get to her feet and relaxed a bit when she felt Joyce’s arm wrap around her to hold her up.

“Faith,” she said evenly, unable to mask the disappointment in her voice.

“Faith broke into our house and shot you with tranquilizers? Buffy, I know you girls aren’t getting along these days but I haven’t seen her in weeks; I hardly believe she’d just stroll in here and . . .”

“I shot her first,” Buffy interrupted, earning a disapproving look in return. “It’s a long story but the Council is after Faith and I was trying to help her.”

“By . . . shooting her with a tranquilizer gun?” Joyce questioned, unable to follow Buffy’s logic.

By now they’d walked down the hall and were in Buffy’s room where they gingerly rested down on her bed. Joyce looked confused and concerned and just about two seconds away from crossing into Overprotective Mom zone. Buffy couldn’t risk that, especially seeing as that she had to make a hasty escape to find Faith . . . just as soon as her legs decided to wake up, anyway.

“I know it sounds crazy, Mom, but it was for her own good.” When Joyce continued to stare at her, Buffy took a deep breath and began to explain. “Somehow the Council got wind that she’s not working for us anymore and their on their way to Sunnydale as we speak. They don’t want to ‘rehabilitate’ her any longer, whatever that means. They want a pliable new slayer that’ll bend to their will.”

“But I thought that a new slayer isn’t called until the previous slayer . . . passes,” Joyce said. She stumbled over her words, not wanting to remember the fact that her daughter had died at some point.

Buffy stayed silent and met her mother’s eyes, not wanting to say the words. It took Joyce a moment but then her eyes widened in sudden realization.

“They’re coming to kill her?”

“They’ll be here in the morning,” Buffy said sadly. “I know she and I aren’t exactly BFF’s these days but I can’t let that happen to her. Not by cowards with guns. She doesn’t seem to care though -- maybe it’s some kind of death wish, I’m not sure – but I thought that if I could keep her hidden away, this would all blow over.”

“Did you try speaking to her nicely?”

“Mom, I’m not completely without finesse. I tried it the easy way; she chose the hard way. I thought maybe we were in the process of finding a common ground and then, well . . . and then she shot me.”

Buffy could still taste Faith’s lip gloss on her lips and it was doing its best to distract her and make her remember what had happened before Faith had shot her. She pushed the memory down though and focused on the task at hand. 

“Buffy, I don’t like this. There are men with guns coming for her and she’s out there alone, but if I let you go after her you’re putting yourself in the line of fire.”

“All part of the job,” Buffy said with a shrug.

Joyce looked at her for a moment before she replied, “No, it’s not. But I understand why you want to help her. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time we call the police for a change.” Buffy started to protest but Joyce cut her off. “Buffy, you’re the best darned vampire slayer that I’ve ever known, but you’re not impervious to bullets.”

“Neither is Faith,” Buffy said after a short silence passed between them. “And if something happens to her . . . there’s no one there to help or take care of her. She’s alone. I finally get that.”

They were quiet for several long moments, letting the silence speak words neither of them wanted to say. Joyce held Buffy’s hand tightly; it was apparent that she didn’t want to let go but Buffy knew that she would relent in the end. Joyce finally sighed and patted Buffy’s hand, then stood up from the bed.

“You’d better get going. Once you find her, you can bring her back here and we’ll work on it together. Just . . . please be careful, honey.”

“I will. Thanks Mom,” Buffy said with a smile, then stood on wobbly legs and gave her a quick hug. 

She took a deep breath and then made her way downstairs and out the front door. Her left arm was still numb from the shoulder down, Faith was missing, there was less than twelve hours until the Council assassins arrived and Buffy still had no idea how to stop them – and Faith – from having their lethal run-in.

A renewed sense of determination washed over her and she smiled as she walked off into the night. She’d always liked a challenge and now she finally had a real one.

********************

It was nearly four hours later and Buffy had been up and down the streets of Sunnydale with no luck. Faith had effectively closed off their slayer connection making it impossible for Buffy to find her using any other means than a watchful eye. There were no signs of the girl anywhere; not at her apartment, the motel, the many cemeteries they’d patrolled, or any of the usual late-night haunts.

It was as if she’d completely up and disappeared.

Heck, maybe she’d finally realized just how dangerous the situation was and skipped town before the shitstorm could rain down on her. Buffy couldn’t blame her.

She really couldn’t blame her for much of anything anymore.

The night air was cool, her feet were tired, and she was more than looking forward to a nice warm bed but she didn’t want it to look like she was giving up so easily. She wasn’t giving up; she just had no idea how to find Faith in the first place!

Despite the late hour, Buffy realized that she was close to Giles’ apartment. She didn’t doubt that he was still awake, anxious about everything that was going on. Although she was sure there was nothing he could do to help besides offer encouragement, she decided to take a chance and knock on the door anyhow. 

The living room light was on and it didn’t take Giles long to open the door, still fully dressed in his clothing from the previous day. He tilted his head to the side and a look of confusion crept up on his face.

“Buffy? What are you doing here? Where’s Faith?”

“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’?” 

There was a long drawn out pause as Giles stared at her intently. “Are you feeling quite right, or was that a biblical quote that just left your mouth?”

Buffy grimaced as she realized where that handy quote had come from.

“Yuck. Can I try again?” At Giles’ amused nod, she continued. “How about: an eye for an eye? I tranq’d Faith so she tranq’d . . . I. Long story short? I woke up from happy sleepy time and she was long gone.”

“That was a rather unfortunate turn of events,” Giles said and stepped aside to let Buffy through. 

She breezed in easily enough and walked right over to the couch and had a seat. The urge to kick her feet up on the coffee table was there but she couldn’t take more than one Giles lecture after the night she’d had. She wasn’t even sure she could take the one she was positive she was about to get. 

“I’ll say. One minute she was sleeping on my bed and the next minute she was creeping up on me while I was bubble-glove shadow boxing.” Buffy looked up and saw the look of complete confusion on Giles’ face. “Not important. She was too mad at me for tranqing her to listen. Then she was up in my face and things were said, then the next thing I knew there was a dart in my stomach and another in my shoulder.”

She conveniently left out the part about the impromptu kissage; she wasn’t sure she could deal with that one alone, let alone with her Watcher knowing too. There had to be boundaries sometimes in Slayer/Watcher relations, and she was putting a big one up. At least for the time being.

Much to her surprise, Giles seemingly abandoned the lecture she was expecting and took a seat down next to her. He remained silent and pensive for several long moments before he finally looked up at her tired face.

“Faith isn’t like you or I, Buffy.”

“I know. She’s reckless and careless and thoughtless, and a whole mess of other words that end in ‘less’.”

“I suppose you’re right, but you’re forgetting a very important adjective that I think is the crux of the problem: friendless. Faith traveled here completely alone from Boston once Professor Dormer was murdered by Kakistos. She’s been alone in her pain and guilt, yet she still reached out to you; a kindred.”

“We reached out to her, Giles. She slapped our hands away,” Buffy defended.

Giles offered her a placating smile and continued.

“Buffy, I don’t expect you to see things as I do, but I know how close you are with Xander and Willow. Your friendship with them is quite amazing; strong and caring, resilient . . .”

“Thank you.”

“. . . and completely impenetrable.”

Buffy’s proud smile faded when Giles finished his sentence. He clasped his hand around hers to show that he wasn’t trying to be hurtful; he merely was trying to make a point.

“It’s a remarkable friendship; really, you have reason to be quite proud of it. But when Faith arrived, Buffy, it was easy to see that you weren’t as welcoming as you’d let on. She tried to become a part of your group but she didn’t realize how nearly impossible that was. Cordelia and Oz have found a place but even they sit on the outside from time to time. Most people would understand, but Faith took that as the ultimate rejection.”

“We never meant for it to be that way; _I_ never meant for it to be that way,” Buffy said quietly.

“I know you didn’t, dear,” Giles replied, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. “The most unfortunate part is that we can’t go back and change that; I can’t go back and try to make things easier for her, take her from that horrid motel and give her a proper home, and you can’t go back and try to welcome her more fully. We’ve passed that point, and I don’t believe Faith would allow us that chance even if we could offer it now. Her ego is bruised and she’ll do anything she can to prove that she doesn’t fit with us so that she doesn’t have to face any more rejection.”

Buffy smiled wryly to herself as she stared down at her lap.

“Thanks for the pep-talk, Giles. Go Team Buffy!”

“Buffy, you know that I’ll always support you. I just think it’s time Faith had some support too. I’ve . . .” he chuckled to himself and took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “I’ve been going over it again and again all night long and can’t help but feel the sting of guilt for not having been more helpful. The Council is sending men to kill Faith and I feel partly responsible for the entire predicament.”

Now it was Buffy’s turn to console Giles with a comforting hand on his back. 

“Well, you can take a load off, Giles, because I’m here to carry my share of it. Maybe now we can try to put things right by not letting it happen. I’ll hit the streets in the morning; it’s useless now, she’s hiding from me. Maybe I can catch her off guard if I start early. If I find her . . . _when_ I find her . . . we’ll need your help to find a safe place to stay.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll see to it right away . . .” he began to stand but a small hand around his forearm stopped him.

“I appreciate the eagerness but we both need some rest. Do you mind if I stay here for a few hours? We can start fresh in the morning.”

Giles nodded and grabbed the phone from its perch, handing it to her.

“You’ll inform your mother of the plan so she doesn’t worry all night?”

“She’ll worry anyway, but sure.” 

She took the phone and dialed the familiar number, smiling as Giles patted her shoulder before making his way up the steps to his bedroom. Sleep might not come easily, but at least trying to might distract her from the feeling of guilt that was plaguing her weary body.

********************

Buffy awoke with a start, slipping off the uncomfortable couch and landing with a thud on Giles’ living room floor. The morning sun was shining through the window and she looked around confused, trying to get her bearings.

Couch. Books. Saucer and teacup.

Right, she was definitely at Giles’.

She didn’t dwell on it though; she realized what had woken her suddenly from her dream and tossed her off the couch. Since she’d been looking for Faith the day before, she’d left their slayer connection wide open. Faith seemed to have blocked it once she’d tranq’d Buffy, but now it was back and stronger than ever and coursing through her like lightning.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the pull of the connection. It was warm and tingly and . . . her eyes shot open and she leapt up from the floor.

“Giles! I know where she is!” she shouted as she ran toward the front door. “Start looking for a safehouse; I’m not coming back without her!”

She didn’t stick around and wait to see that Giles had heard her. The way she had yelled, she was pretty sure that the whole block had heard her. There was no time to linger though; she knew exactly where Faith was and judging by the position of the sun in the sky, it was one of the stupidest places she could be in right now!

It didn’t take her very long to reach the familiar motel. The parking lot was nearly deserted with the exception of a handful of old cars and one black sedan that was eerily out of place. Keeping her eyes trained on it, she quickly approached the building and stopped dead in her tracks when she reached the bottom of the few stairs that led to Faith’s motel room.

Her breath caught in her throat and she had to take a step back around the corner to stop the three men dressed in black standing just outside Faith’s door from seeing her. She could feel Faith and knew that she had to be just inside the door, completely unaware of the danger that lurked just outside. Straining her ears to listen, she heard one of the men knock on the door and a strained silence followed.

“Go ahead and knock it down,” one of them said quietly.

Suddenly the door went flying in and Buffy jumped from the loud bang it made. 

How could Faith be so stupid as to actually come back here? It was probably the first place they were going to look for her! And now she was trapped in there with them!

Steeling herself, Buffy took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do.

Turning quickly around the corner of the building, she ran up the five steps and approached the door. Just as she was about to run inside, someone grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth to muffle the surprised scream she let out.


	7. Seven

Buffy tried to struggle but the grip around her was iron tight. She opted to try to bite the hand that was muffling her screams but the more she tried to bite, the harder it pushed against her making it virtually impossible to even open her mouth. Her assailant dragged her along the front of the building until they reached the next room down. She couldn’t see inside of it because she was pulled in backwards but she did her best to make a racket and kicked out with her feet.

“Calm the fuck down!” Came a harsh whisper against her ear and she instantly realized the voice to be Faith’s.

She stopped her struggling – at least until she could figure out exactly what the heck was going on – and let Faith maneuver them until the door was closed and they were braced against it. Pushed face-first against the door with Faith pressed against her back, Buffy suddenly seemed to realize the awkward position they were in.

The second that Faith released her grip a little, Buffy slapped her hands away and spun around. She was instantly pressed against the door once again though and Faith’s hand was back over her mouth.

Buffy wanted to argue and yell and possibly knock Faith about the head a few times but Faith’s intense gaze kept her pinned there, silent and still. She suddenly realized why Faith wouldn’t let her speak; she could very clearly hear the Council assassins through the paper-thin walls in the next room over and surely they could hear her too if she were to speak.

It sounded as if the men were tossing the room apart, realizing that even though Faith wasn’t there, maybe they could find some clues as to where she might be. What sounded like a dresser drawer was thrown at the wall and thudded loudly against it and then down to the floor. Both Buffy and Faith looked over to make sure the shared wall hadn’t cracked and revealed their hiding place but they seemed safe for the moment.

Buffy mumbled against Faith’s hand so that she would move it but Faith kept it firmly in place. Perturbed, Buffy raised her eyebrow and mumbled something again and Faith’s only response was the tiniest of a smirk at the corner of her lips.

She was enjoying this!

More than slightly annoyed, Buffy took advantage of the looser hold Faith had on her now and easily bit her hand. Faith’s smirk faltered and she flinched with pain seeing as that she couldn’t exactly voice her discomfort. Feeling victorious, Buffy smirked against Faith’s hand . . . until she felt a set of sharp teeth digging into her shoulder. She shoved Faith’s head away none-too-gently and glowered when she saw Faith now wearing the victorious smile.

“Jerk!” she whispered harshly when Faith finally pulled her hand away.

Faith shook her hand and looked down at the bite mark on her palm. She held it up and showed it to Buffy who looked guilt-ridden for maybe a half-second when she saw the red welt.

“You deserved it,” Buffy lamely defended.

“So did you,” Faith whispered back as she pointed at the noticeable mark on Buffy’s shoulder.

Buffy looked down at it and nearly stomped but Faith was suddenly pressed tightly against her once again and impeding any excessive movement. She went to speak again but the sound of the men talking in the other room quickly hushed her up. Both girls simultaneously looked over at the wall and focused their hearing.

_“Have you found her?”_ came a voice from what sounded like a speakerphone. It was Quentin Travers checking in on his team.

_“Not as of yet. We’re at the motel but there’s no sign of her, just a bunch of her crap.”_

Buffy stole a glance over at Faith and watched as her eyes narrowed angrily. 

_“Our sources say she may be staying in an apartment in downtown Sunnydale and using the motel as a decoy. Be sure to check for her there.”_

_“Don’t worry boss, we’ll get her,”_ another one of the men piped up. _“But what do you want us to do if the other slayer gets in our way?”_

Buffy looked sharply over at the wall again and could feel Faith’s gaze on her as they waited for Quentin’s reply.

_“Buffy Summers has made it very clear that she’s no longer working for the Council, thus she’s no longer our concern. Her life or death won’t affect the slayer line, so if she gets in your way, do what you must to complete your mission.”_

_“We’ll head downtown and try to find the apartment. If she’s not there, we’ll check what the word out on the street is.”_

_“Good; there’s no time for dallying. Find Faith and dispose of her before she can turn the tables on you. Rupert’s on to our plan so he and his little group of do-gooders may be trying to help her. Be sure to check out his place as well. And don’t be afraid to pay a visit to Buffy Summers’ house. She won’t harm you if you use her mother as leverage.”_

Buffy’s jaw, which had been hanging open in surprise, began to clench tightly. Her entire body tensed; she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. She wanted to lash out and scream and Faith must’ve sensed that because Buffy suddenly felt Faith press against her a little more firmly.

“Now’s not the right time for a tantrum,” Faith whispered.

“But it’s the right time for inappropriate grinding?” Buffy whispered back, sneaking a look down at the non-existent space between them.

“There’s no such thing as a wrong time when it comes to inappropriate grinding,” Faith whispered with a grin, making sure to move her body ever so subtly against Buffy’s.

Buffy grimaced and put her hands on Faith’s shoulder, extending her arms until there was a good foot of space between them.

“I’ll pass,” she said harshly.

Faith grinned and straightened up, finally letting Buffy have some personal space. “Your loss, blondie.”

They stayed completely quiet for several minutes longer and listened to the sounds from the other room. The men spoke quietly to one another as they rifled through her stuff and finally left the room a short while later, piling into the black sedan and driving off without any more fuss.

Buffy sighed with relief when they were out of sight and she plopped down onto the chair next to the door. Faith took a seat on the edge of the bed and used the top of her boot to push around the loose fibers of the shag carpeting. There was so much Buffy wanted to say and do – including giving Faith a serious ass-kicking for the quasi-abduction – but she could only sit in silence as she played over the new information.

Not only was Faith in trouble, but now Buffy was as well. She hadn’t harmed anyone, hadn’t done anything to incur Travers’ wrath, but now her own life – and possibly her mother’s as well - was in danger. The Council had continuously put her in danger, including the harrowing cruciamentum, and now they were threatening even further harm if she helped a fellow slayer.

Only one thing was sure; there would only be one winner in this battle: the Slayers or the establishment that had continually exploited them.

Sheer determination drove Buffy as she stood from the chair, a fire burning behind her eyes.

“I’m going to kindly overlook the fact that you dragged me in here like that and instead focus on the fact that you kept me from going in your room and wasting my time trying to save you when you weren’t even there,” she said as she looked down at Faith. 

“Sounds fair. Hey, since you’re bein’ all big and overlooking things, think ya can overlook the whole tranquilizer incident?”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed and her shoulder started stinging with the memory from the night before, but the red in her cheeks from the memory of their shared kiss stung even worse.

“How about we just scratch yesterday altogether and start fresh,” Buffy suggested.

Faith eyed her suspiciously for a moment, instantly taking notice of her reddened face. She grinned just a little bit and stood up, offering her hand out to Buffy. Buffy seemed hesitant to take it at first but eventually gripped on and they briefly shook on it.

Why did she suddenly feel like she’d just made a deal with the devil?

“Just to be clear on things,” Buffy said, “we’re not okay. We’re far from it, actually, but we don’t have time to fight over it anymore. We can work on it . . . once we figure out how we’re gonna get out of this alive.”

“Whatever. Pretty sure neither of us feel like dyin’ today.”

“I know I don’t. But there’s a condition to this truce.” Faith raised her eyebrow so Buffy continued. “The Mayor. You have to cut ties.”

“Not as easy as it sounds, B,” Faith said as she sat back down on the edge of the bed. “He sees me with the good ol’ Scooby gang and their fearless leader? The Council assassins are gonna be the least of my worries.”

Buffy stared at her long and hard and eventually shook her head sadly.

“Of all the allies you could’ve picked, Faith, he was the worst.”

“Yeah, well beggars can’t be choosy.”

Faith’s walls were going back up and Buffy couldn’t risk that right now. They needed to stick together if they were going to make it through this and she couldn’t have Faith re-thinking their truce in the middle of it all.

“Alright, alright . . . I’m sorry,” Buffy apologized, holding her hands up. “Let’s not get into it. We need to get in touch with Giles before he leaves for work to see if he’s arranged a place for us to stay.”

“Good luck tryin’ to get a line outta here. Phone lines have been busted for weeks.”

“Oh. Well that’s . . . inconvenient. I guess we can try to call him from somewhere else but the Council knows most of the places we can safely go to do that, and we can’t exactly stroll up to his place in case they’re staking it out.”

“So let’s head to your buddy Red’s house. She’s got a phone that works, right?”

Faith stood up casually and started walking toward the door but stopped when she felt Buffy’s hand wrapped around her forearm. She looked down at her arm and then up to Buffy’s face, raising an eyebrow in question.

“No, we don’t get them involved. Willow and Xander are off-limits until this all blows over. I can’t watch them if I’m with you, and even if we could go there, I’m not so sure Willow would be exactly happy to welcome you into her house.”

“Course not. Can’t have the psycho slayer in the inner sanctum of nerd-dom,” Faith said dismissively, the bitter tone in her voice not lost on Buffy.

“Hey, your choice of moniker, not mine. Can’t really blame her though, can you?” 

Buffy’s voice was soft rather than argumentative; she really wasn’t trying to start a fight with Faith. She tried to look into Faith’s eyes but the girl was busy looking anywhere but at her.

“Whatever. If we need a place to lay low so we can call Giles, I know just the spot. They’ll never look for us there.”

Faith shook Buffy’s hand off her arm and walked the rest of the way to the door, turning slightly but not facing the girl when she realized Buffy wasn’t following after her.

“You coming or not?” she asked.

Buffy stared at her for a few moments, noticing how the tension across her back and in her shoulders betrayed her otherwise casual demeanor. She finally sighed and nodded, in disbelief that she was trusting Faith so easily once again.

“Lead the way.”

********************

They’d walked through several alleys and side streets, careful to avoid any areas where they could be easily spotted by passersby. Sunnydale wasn’t a big town by any means but there were still quite a few people out and about during the day, especially this early when they were all headed off to work and school. There was no telling where the assassins had gone to first so Buffy and Faith were fully on guard.

Buffy could barely believe her eyes when she saw Faith leading them toward a familiar building that she would never consider a good spot to hide from danger.

“Willy’s, Faith? Really? This is your idea of a safe place to lay low?”

“It’s early in the day, B. It’s not really open for business to the regular clientele. Besides, no one’s gonna give me a hard time in here.”

“Because of your evil boss?” Buffy whispered harshly as Faith knocked on a back door and waited for a response.

“Well, yeah,” Faith said with a shrug.

“Well that’s just great for you, but I regularly bash heads in on the bar in here! I hardly think they’re going to roll out the welcome mat and . . .”

“Hey, what’s up, Faith?” A male voice asked as the door swung open, interrupting Buffy’s little tirade.

A tall and buff human male stepped out a little bit looking every bit some kind of a Greek god in his tight t-shirt and blue jeans. He and Faith shared a big smile before Faith put on her charmer act.

“Not much, Jonesy,” Faith answered, giving him a quick high-five. “Me and the princess here need a place to crash for a bit; make a call or two.”

Jonesy turned his attention of Buffy and looked her over, his smile falling as he realized who he was looking at.

“I dunno, Fai. We’re neutral territory during the day. I let her in here and she starts getting stabby, I’m back to flipping burgers at the Doublemeat Palace.”

“B promises to be on her best behavior, don’t ya, Buffy?”

Buffy looked from Jonesy over to Faith who was giving her the biggest, fakest smile she’d ever seen. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to play along if things got even remotely evil inside but she’d at least give it her best shot; they didn’t really have many options.

Plastering on her own fake smile, Buffy looked back to Jonesy and held up her empty hands, wiggling her fingers around a little.

“No punches shall be thrown by these hands.”

Jonesy seemed wary for a few moments but eventually shook his head and smiled, then stood aside so the two girls could enter. Buffy and Faith offered him one last smile before stepping past him and into the bar. He looked up and down the alley before stepping in as well and closing the door behind him, locking it tightly.

There weren’t very many people or demons in the bar this early in the morning; not even Willy was behind the counter. A large-screen TV was playing in the background and the few patrons didn’t even seem to notice their entrance.

“Lively crowd,” Buffy commented, careful to keep her distance from pretty much everything around her.

“They’re only here for safe-haven during daylight hours,” Faith explained as she leaned over the bar and pulled an old-fashioned telephone from under it, resting it gingerly on the counter. “Most of them are passive; they avoid humans just as much as humans avoid them.”

“And you know about this little daylight hideaway how exactly?”

Faith tensed up and finally looked over to Buffy after a moment, her eyes narrowing. She took the phone off the receiver and thrust it out at Buffy, holding it against her chest until Buffy took it from her.

“Just make your fuckin’ call already.”

Buffy didn’t know exactly what she said to make Faith shut down again but she wasn’t going to dwell on it right now. She needed to get in touch with Giles before he left for Sunnydale High or they’d have to wait until he was home later; they couldn’t risk going to the school when the assassins knew that was one of the spots the Scoobies could always be found.

Quickly dialing the number, she held the phone to her ear and counted the rings, hoping that she hadn’t missed him.

From the back room, the dialing of a cell phone could be heard as a vampire stood in the shadows, watching Buffy and Faith intently.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said into the small phone. “You’re never gonna believe what I’m seeing right now.”


	8. Eight

The line rang and rang and after the twentieth ring, Buffy finally hung the receiver back on the cradle of the old-fashioned telephone and sighed deeply. Giles had either left for work already or he was afraid that his phone was tapped and wouldn't answer any calls. She'd give it ten minutes and call again. If he didn't answer then, she'd try to get in touch with him at the school.

By the time she turned back to Faith, the girl was sipping from a fresh bottle of beer she'd apparently helped herself to. Her eyes were fixed at some point across the room and she seemed oblivious to the way Buffy was staring at her. 

"He didn't answer," Buffy said after a moment, scratching at the varnish on the wooden bar with her thumbnail. "I'll try again in a few minutes." 

"You seriously believe he wants to help me?" Faith asked, avoiding Buffy's gaze. 

"He told me so himself," Buffy replied. 

"How the hell do you know he's not just gonna turn me in and get some kind of big Watcher-type reward?" 

"Uh, because he's Giles?" Buffy said with her eyebrows raised. "Things might not be hugs and rainbows between us now; they haven't been for a while. He wants to make it right though." 

"Kinda late, don't ya think? Everything's already all fucked up." 

Buffy shrugged, "Better late than never." 

An uncomfortable silence settled around them and Buffy continued to find the wooden bar in front of her very interesting. She was acutely aware of every demon and vamp in the bar with them and continuously pushed down her instincts to slip into attack mode. Instead she used her nail to carve the letter ‘B' into the soft wood, smiling when she was done. Her territory was marked. Take that, evil demons! 

Her brief personal victory was interrupted when Faith reached over the top of the bar and pulled another beer from behind it. The bottle hissed as she popped the top off and Buffy looked over to see her tipping it back to her lips, downing half the contents in a series of slow gulps. 

"How are you drinking beer at eight o'clock in the morning?" she asked. 

Faith shrugged and sat forward with both of her elbows on the bar, using her fingernails to start peeling the label from the bottle. 

"Breakfast of champions," she said nonchalantly. 

"Hmm. Mom always told me the breakfast of champions consisted of oatmeal, half a grapefruit and a piece of whole wheat toast. I think I'll let you be the one to tell her she's wrong." 

"Pretty sure I'm the last person your ma wants to see." 

"You'd be surprised. She told me to bring you home with me." 

"Probably just so she can kick my ass for hurting her precious baby girl," Faith said bitterly. 

"No one wants to see you get hurt, Faith," Buffy said after a few moments, her voice quiet and low. No vamp or demon needed to hear them hashing out their differences. "Things are . . . messed up. We're all at fault in some way or another. But no matter how much has happened between us, I can't just sit back and let the Council hurt you or worse. Me, Giles, the gang . . . we're all together on this one." 

"Great. Just what I need, Scooby Team cheerleaders." 

And Buffy's patience was officially wearing thin. She spun on her barstool so that she was facing Faith, her knees pressing into Faith's outer thigh. 

"You know what would be _just_ great? If you could drop the tough-girl woman-scorned act for five minutes and deal with the seriousness that is this situation." 

Faith scoffed and took a minute to finish off her beer, then set the empty bottle back on the bar. Instead of facing Buffy, she spun the other way and stood up, stretching her back. When she started heading off toward the back of the bar, Buffy called after her. 

"Where are you going?" 

"To take a piss," Faith answered, spinning around to face Buffy with an over-friendly smile on her face. "We're like best friends now, right B? So you gonna come with me? Wipe my ass, powder my nose? Ain't that what besties do?" 

"You're disgusting," Buffy mumbled as she spun back toward the bar, ignoring Faith now. 

"Always been this way, princess. It's why ya never welcomed me into your little group of pristine pals." When Buffy didn't respond in any way, Faith sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Call again. Try not to beat up the patrons while I'm gone." 

When Faith turned around the back corner and disappeared through a dark doorway, Buffy mimicked her irritably and picked the phone back up, dialing angrily. As expected, there was no answer at Giles' house. She hung up and quickly punched in another number, listening as the line rang again and again. 

_"Sunnydale High School Library, Rupert Giles speaking,"_ Giles answered sounding slightly out of breath. 

"Thank god," Buffy said, sighing with relief. "I tried calling you at home." 

_"I'm afraid I had some rather unwelcome visitors. I don't believe it's safe for us to communicate any longer while I'm there. While two of the assassins kept me busy with questions, I saw the third skulking around. I've no doubt he hid listening devices throughout my flat."_

"Guess that rules out your place as a hiding spot," Buffy said, massaging her forehead with her free hand. 

_"I gather that you've found Faith?"_

"Yeah, she's with me, and boy oh boy is she just as pleasant as ever," she said sarcastically. 

_"Buffy,"_ Giles began, his voice bordering a stern scolding. 

"I know, I know!" she interrupted him irritably, garnering a few looks from the bar patrons. She shot them all a quick glare and hunched her shoulders forward, trying to hide herself from them. "She's not exactly being Miss Cooperative but we're working on it." 

_"Good. Give her time, Buffy. Once she sees we're genuinely eager to help her, I think she'll be more willing to cooperate. Until then . . ."_

"I know," Buffy interrupted again. "I'm behaving. We're gonna need someplace to hide though, Giles. They've already been to her motel, they know about her apartment, and my house and yours are out of the question." 

_"I'd assumed as much. I've been in touch with a friend of mine; a real estate agent. She's printing us a list of unoccupied houses and buildings in Sunnydale. It's our best option short of sending Faith away, which we may have to resort to if the assassins prove unyielding."_

"Oh, I can make them yield," Buffy replied confidently. 

_"I'm sure you can, dear, but we can't put your life at risk as well."_

"It already is. We overheard them at the hotel. Since I'm not ‘the Council's concern' any longer, they've been directed to eliminate me if I get in the way," she said. 

_"Then it's even more imperative that we keep both Faith and you from their grasp. Buffy, do you remember where you put that item that time we needed it safely hidden?"_

Buffy thought long and hard. God, there were a million ways she could answer that, but she decided to play nice. Giving Giles brain-strain wasn't good when they were in stressful situations like they were now. 

"You mean that thing I stole from that guy with the thing?" 

_"Precisely,"_ Giles replied, somehow sure that he and Buffy were on the same page despite the vagueness. _"I've left something there for you and I'll take the list there as soon as I receive the fax from my contact. Will you be safe until then?"_

Buffy cautiously looked around the bar, noticing the several demons that were trying to pretend that they weren't watching and listening to her. She shrugged, "Safe as any other place in Sunnydale, I guess." 

_"Excellent. Head toward that place at noon; this way we can be assured that you won't run into me and that anyone following me won't be led to you."_

"But how do I get in touch with you once you've left the library?" 

_"There will be instructions with the list. And Buffy . . ."_ Giles paused uncomfortably, _"I must ask that you refrain from contacting your mother. I'll be in touch with her at work shortly and let her know what's going on."_

"Okay, Giles. Just . . . make sure she's safe. I won't be able to focus on helping Faith if I know that everyone I care about is in danger," Buffy said quietly, twirling the curly phone cord around her finger. 

_"We'll take the utmost safety precautions. Please say you'll do the same."_

"We will. Thanks, Giles." 

Buffy hung up the phone and pushed it back to the other side of the bar, feeling the stress of the situation starting to weigh down on her. She rested her face in her hands and shook her head lightly. 

"You look like someone just ran over your puppy," Faith said as she climbed up on the stool next to Buffy. 

"I'm lucky I don't have a puppy," Buffy said, turning her face so that she could look over at Faith. "If I did, the Council would probably kidnap and torture it as a scare tactic." 

Faith just stared at her for several long moments, the look on her face unreadable. She seemed troubled but like she was trying to keep that hidden. Like she didn't want Buffy to see past her badass exterior. 

"You've got some thinkin' to do, B. Pretty sure you're not gonna get a chance to take any of this back once we walk out that door together. Just ran into one of the Mayor's boys in the back room. He's dust now but if he saw us here together, chances are that he already blew me in and the Mayor ain't gonna be happy to know I'm friendin' it up with ya again. Gonna have two people huntin' me down now if that's the case." 

"Well part of the deal was that you stop working for the Mayor," Buffy said evenly. "If some vamp blew you in, it saves you the hassle of having to type up a resignation letter." 

"Oh yeah, cos that's me, all right and proper with the paperwork," Faith said, the tiniest of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. The smile instantly melted away though, leaving Faith with a deep scowl on her face as she looked down at the bar. "Maybe I should just get the hell outta dodge. Mayor ain't gonna keep me safe now, that's for sure. The assassins will give up eventually if I hide, but the Mayor's always gonna be here, B. Now you're caught up in this and . . ." she trailed off with a shrug, shaking her head lightly. 

"I never assumed this deal would be trouble-free, Faith. I mean, I wasn't quite expecting Tranq darts and demons bars, but I figured it wouldn't be an easy ride. The important thing is that we keep everyone safe, including you. We have bigger personal issues between us to fry, but we can do that once we put out the fire." 

Faith thought about that for a minute and scrunched up her face in confusion. "Don't you need the fire to fry something though?" At Buffy's glare, Faith just shook her head and looked down at the bar again before meeting Buffy's gaze once more. "You sure I'm worth all this?" 

And boy, was that a loaded question. Two weeks ago Buffy would have said no. She would have told you that her life, or her Mom's life or her make-believe puppy's life was more important than Faith's. That vision though; seeing Faith shot dead, no one to know or care about it; something changed in Buffy when she saw it. She couldn't let it come to fruition. 

Because even though it took her a while to realize it, Buffy knew that Faith was worth more than the three bullets in her chest that fate seemed to want to fire at her. 

"Yes," she said finally, looking deeply into Faith's eyes; trying to convey the truth she felt behind her answer. "All lives are worth saving; just because we're not exactly best friends doesn't mean I can sit back and watch you die." 

Faith silently held her gaze for nearly a minute before she nodded gently and turned away. She whipped a small blade from her pocket and started digging into the wooden bar just as Buffy had been doing before. Buffy watched her for a few moments, then spun around so her back was to the bar and she was able to look out into the sparsely populated room. 

"So what's the plan?" Faith asked, her voice a low mumble. 

"Giles has some info for us," Buffy said, her gaze fixed on a demon in the corner who was watching them with a snarl on his face. "We just need to sit tight until noon and then we can head out to get it. Until we can figure out some kind of a plan, we're going to squat in vacant houses and buildings. Not exactly luxurious, but they'll never know where to look for us and we can keep moving around." 

Faith sighed and spun around, resting her elbows back on the bar behind her. She followed Buffy's gaze to the snarling demon and tilted her head to the side as she watched him intently. 

"Never been one to run from a fight. Feels wrong." 

"Not as wrong as three bullets to the chest would feel," Buffy said evenly, her eyes still fixed on the demon. 

"Probably got a point there." 

"Yeah-huh." 

"And we're still nixing the idea of me gettin' the hell outta Sunnyhell?" 

Buffy shrugged, "That'll be our last resort. The assassins may give up for a while, but they'll track you down, Faith. You won't be safe anywhere. As for the Mayor, the gang and I already know he's the baddie of the year, so he'll be dealt with. Giles is researching it. In the meanwhile, we need to see if we can find a permanent fix for the assassins." 

Faith thought about it for a minute, tilting her head the other way as she continued to stare at the increasingly agitated demon. 

"Willing to bet that if we can catch them without their glocks, me and you can fix'em permanently." 

Buffy pulled her gaze from the demon momentarily and looked over at Faith. "They're human. We don't kill humans, Faith." When she saw Faith tense up, she hurriedly added, "Not on purpose, we don't." 

She quickly averted her gaze but heard Faith take in a deep breath, then let it go like she was counting to ten. Ah. So Faith did feel bad about Finch. Buffy knew there were more emotions beside anger and hate underneath Faith's tough exterior. 

"Right. So the Council assassins can kill humans – namely me - but we can't. Good to know," Faith said bitterly, her body tense. 

Suddenly she pulled her arm back and brought it forward as hard as possible, sending the knife she'd still been holding in her hand flying across the room. It impaled itself in the snarling demon's forehead, instantly dropping him to the floor. Buffy watched on, surprised, as several of the other demons ran into the back or out the front door. When they were finally alone with the dead demon and a sleeping Pirston demon in a small booth, Faith smirked a little. 

"Thank god we can still kill demons, huh." At Buffy's speechless nod, Faith walked over to one of the newly vacant booths and climbed in, letting her legs rest lengthwise against the seat with her back against the wall. "Noon, right?" 

"Umm, yeah," Buffy replied, finally finding her voice. 

"Great. Wake me up then." 

Faith crossed her arms over her chest and rested her head back against the wall, making herself as comfortable as possible. She finally closed her eyes, leaving Buffy to wonder how she could be relaxed enough to have a nap at a time like this.


	9. Nine

It was nearly noon now and Buffy was getting antsy. Faith was still asleep and there were demons watching them from the back room, none of them hazarding so much as a step inside the front bar area. She kept a watchful eye on them, not moving from her seat at the wooden bar the entire time.

Unable to sit still any longer, she spun around on the barstool, intent on finding a way to pour herself a glass of diet coke. The caffeine would take the edge off and then she could . . . something caught her eye and she glanced down at the wooden bar. 

The place where she'd carved her first initial on the bar now had a small addition to it. Directly next to the large and fancy letter B and scrawled in Faith's handwriting was the word ‘itch.' 

B-itch. 

Buffy scowled. Well wasn't that just fantastic! 

All thoughts of being civil left her mind like helium from a popped balloon. Determined more than ever that she needed to save Faith solely so she could kill the girl herself, she hopped down from the barstool and made her way over to the booth where Faith was sleeping. She stopped just a step away from the table and crossed her arms over her chest, looking every bit annoyed as she felt. 

"Get up," she said but Faith didn't budge an inch. "Faith, now." 

Faith continued to sleep, her heavy boots balancing precariously on the edge of the bench. Even the subtlest of movements would send her legs slipping down to the floor and would surely jostle her awake. 

With that thought in mind, Buffy gave the wooden booth a hearty kick and sure enough, Faith's boots slipped down and carried her legs down to the floor. Unfortunately for Faith, the rest of her body slipped down too and she landed with a thud underneath the table, her head thunking on a metal support beam. 

"The fuck?" she said groggily as she slithered out from under and stood up, trying to gather what remained of her cool. "What the fuck just happened?" 

She looked more confused than she did angry and Buffy couldn't help but feel her own anger slip from danger level eight down to danger level seven. Faith still had it coming to her; Buffy would just save it for a time when she was less possibly-concussed. 

"You slipped," Buffy said evasively, ignoring Faith's raised eyebrow as she turned back to the barstool and grabbed her jacket from the back of it. "It's almost noon. Let's go." 

"Lead the way," Faith said, her voice husky with sleep. She angled one of her shoulders up and craned her neck to the side, cracking it loudly enough to make Buffy grimace. Faith looked at her and shrugged. "Not exactly luxury sleeping conditions but I've dealt with worse." 

Feeling her anger level dip down to level six, Buffy sighed and led the way to the back door where they'd entered, passing by several demons in the back hall who scattered out of their way as quickly as possible. When they finally reached the exit, Jonesy was standing off to the side, looking at them with a disapproving frown. 

"Thought you weren't gonna let her cause trouble, Fai," he said. 

"She didn't," Faith replied casually. "I did." 

"You know the rules. I can't let ya back in." 

"Yeah, I know," she said quietly. "Don't really make a difference anyway. Looks like I'm gonna be on the run the rest of my short little life anyhow." 

A twinge of guilt ate away at Buffy then, making her anger level dip down to level five. As much as Faith still had a knack for pissing her off, she hated the idea of the girl having to hide for the rest of her life. Faith was only eighteen. Or was it seventeen? Come to think of it, Buffy didn't know. She knew practically nothing about Faith once she really thought about it. 

As her anger level continued to fall, her guilt factor continued to rise. When she moved to open the door and found that Faith was already holding it open for her, those numbers kept on following that trend. They left the bar and walked silently through the alleys and side streets, trying their best to be inconspicuous. There were too many people looking for them now to just walk around like they had no problems in the world. 

"So where to?" Faith asked, breaking the awkward silence. 

"The public library." 

"God, you guys are really into your libraries," Faith replied, shoving her hands deep into her pockets. 

"Only because they're quiet and no one really uses them anymore," Buffy said with a shrug. "No one thinks twice if they see Giles in a library. It's his domain, or something. Besides, there are like a million and one hiding places." 

"So we're gonna like, what . . . play hide and seek between the stacks?" 

Faith looked completely confused and Buffy couldn't help but chuckle. 

"Not exactly. Giles left something there for me. We just have to get it and then we can plan our next move, which ironically is going to be like a giant game of hide and seek." 

"Yeah, we hide and the bad guys seek us," Faith grumbled, kicking a pebble so hard that it flew up and cracked a window on the building they were walking past. 

And as much as Buffy didn't want to start another argument, she couldn't just let the bait sit there like that and not take a nibble. 

"So, seeing as that the Mayor will have people looking for you now too, does that mean you finally admit he's one of the bad guys?" 

Faith shrugged, her gaze fixed straight ahead of them as they continued to walk along. "Never said he wasn't. Bad or not, he welcomed me and made me feel wanted. Gave me a place to stay, some money in my pocket; hard to turn down when ya ain't got nothin'." 

"You could have stayed with my mom and I," Buffy said, her voice quiet as she scouted the next street for signs of any assassins or goons. 

"Ya never asked," Faith said just as quietly, then sighed deeply. "Whatever. Ain't worth breakin' each others' faces over anymore. Got me back and beggin' for your help now, so I guess it all works out for ya in the end." 

Buffy could feel Faith closing off again and she couldn't risk it. Not when they were going to be living and working so closely together until this was all figured out. Risking having it slapped away, she decided to reach out an olive branch. 

"For what it's worth?" Buffy began, looking over at Faith until Faith reluctantly met her gaze. "I'm happy to have you back with us. And I'm sorry it's under such crummy circumstances, but none of that matters. You're here and we're gonna figure out the rest." 

Faith took in a deep breath through her nose and looked back ahead of her as they approached the side of the library. "Sure hope so," she mumbled quietly, then decided to change the subject. "Listen, libraries ain't really my kind of thing and my apartment is just a hop skip and jump down the street." 

"No way," Buffy said, preempting what she was sure was coming next. "You're not going back there." 

"B, listen. Damn near everything I own is in that place. I'm givin' up everything to do the right thing and save my ass, but I ain't doin' that without even a bag of stuff to take with me." 

Buffy could feel herself getting frustrated but she tried to remain calm. She sighed and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. 

"Faith, this isn't a permanent situation. Once the assassins leave, we can go back there and . . ." 

"Be serious, B. You and me both know this ain't gonna end all pretty. No way am I gonna be able to stay in Sunnydale. Even if I was, you really think the Mayor would just let me go waltzin' back in there once he realizes for sure that I'm back on Team Buffy?" At Buffy's silence, Faith continued. "I can go in the building next door and get up to the roof, then make my way over to my building. If I keep to the rooftops, no one on the ground will see me." 

"Unless they're already in your apartment," Buffy countered. 

"I'll be careful," Faith promised. 

Buffy sighed again. "You're seriously trying to tell me that a bag of clothes and a pocket full of money is worth your life?" 

"For fuck's sake, Buffy," Faith said, losing her cool. "I'm goin' in there and getting some damn clothes and shit, and then I'll meet you in the back alley here in ten minutes. I don't show up? Count your lucky fucking stars." 

She started to storm off but Buffy's hand caught her arm and pulled her back a step. 

"Fine. If you're so intent on getting your stuff, then we'll go together and I'll play lookout." 

"Think again," Faith said and shook her arm free. "No way am I gonna put you in more danger than you already are. Just go and get your stuff from Giles and meet me out back." 

She took off without another word, hiking up and over a tall wooden fence before disappearing over the other side. Buffy stood there and waited for a moment before shaking her head, clearly frustrated. Here she was doing everything she could to keep Faith safe and Faith was busy running back to the one place where both the Council and the Mayor knew where to find her. 

And what for? A bag of stuff that could easily be replaced. 

Completely perplexed and frustrated, Buffy turned and made her way to the side entrance of the library, checking out the street and parking lot before making her way inside. 

The library was practically empty like it was on most days, all but one of the tables vacant on the entire first floor. A gray-haired librarian looked up from the front desk and smiled politely before going back to the small pile of books in front of her. Buffy made her way to the wide staircase that led to the second floor and went up it, her fingertips grazing the wooden railing as she went. The entire building smelled of old books and wood polish, though judging by the thin layer of dust covering her fingertips, she knew that the polish smell wasn't exactly fresh. 

She walked slowly down a wide walkway, looking at the labels on the rows of shelving as she passed by. When she reached the ‘T' section, she turned down the narrow aisle and moved down it until she found the section she was looking for. 

Transportation. 

She looked for an obvious disturbance on the shelves but knew that Giles wouldn't leave any obvious evidence that anything on the shelf had been rifled through. She used her fingertip to trace along the books, then smiled and shook her head when she reached a bright red and gold volume of a book about . . . sleighs. Sliding it off the shelf, she let the spine fall open in her palm to reveal a few pieces of paper tucked between the pages. 

Buffy didn't even bother to inspect the papers yet. She didn't want to loiter longer than she needed to so she tucked them in her pocket, then gazed past the empty spot where she'd removed the book. Sure enough, there was something wedged against the back of the shelf. She had to remove a few more books to be able to reach the back, but she worked quickly and soon enough had reached what Giles had left for her. 

She sighed with relief when she realized that there was a pay-as-you-go cell phone, fully charged and with just one number programmed into the memory. Giles was always a step ahead and she was grateful that he was on their side. Next to the phone was a small beige envelope and when she peeked into it, she saw that it was full of cash. 

Obviously Giles was preparing her to run if they couldn't figure out a way to keep Faith safe. 

Wait until he found out that the Mayor was going to be after them too. 

Buffy took a deep breath and looked down the aisle and to the windows at the side wall, hoping beyond hope that everything was going just as smoothly for Faith. The tight knot in the pit of her stomach made her think that wasn't the case though. 

* * *

Faith climbed through the window above the small loft, ignoring the broken glass that spilled around her. It wasn't like she was exactly worried about getting her safety deposit back seeing as that she'd never paid for anything there, so she really had no problem breaking the window to get in. 

She'd prowled around the rooftop before deciding to go inside, making sure that she couldn't sense or hear anyone inside. Feeling fairly certain that there was no one in there waiting for her, she'd made her way in and began to search around for anyone who might be hidden away. After a brief sweep, she realized that she was luckily alone and quickly began to pack two small bags that she found under her bed. 

She filled the bags with as many articles of clothing that she could shove in and even managed to toss in an extra pair of shoes. She didn't have much in the way of actual possessions but she made sure to grab her PlayStation and a few games she'd purchased the week before. Lifting up the pillow from her bed, she reached inside the pillowcase and pulled out a small wad of cash. There was a few hundred dollars there and, though it wasn't much, she figured it could buy her a ticket out of Sunnydale if that's what it all came down to. 

Realizing that she needed only one more thing, she quickly moved over to her brand new weapon armoire and pulled out the silver knife that the Mayor had given her as a gift a couple of days before. It was a thing of beauty and no way was she going to leave it behind so that he could give it to some other poor sap to use – probably on her - once he realized she was no longer his go-to girl. She tucked it away inside her leather jacket and stopped in the middle of the apartment, looking around for a few moments. 

She didn't have good memories there, per se, but it was still hard to leave. Here she was giving up everything she had so that she could go back to hiding and sleeping wherever she could find someplace to lay. She knew that was better than six feet under in a tiny box, but it was still hard for her to accept. Even more difficult for her to accept was the fact that Buffy and Giles were so willing to help her now. 

Shaking her head in disbelief, Faith began to make her way back to the broken window when she heard the phone ring. Every instinct inside of her was screaming at her to run, to just get the hell out of there and never look back. For some reason though, she stopped and picked up the cordless phone and looked down at the caller ID. The number was familiar. 

It was the Mayor. 

Of course he was looking for her. Between the fact that she hadn't checked in that morning and that the vamp in the bar had made a phone call to the Town Hall, he knew something was up. Faith knew there was two ways she could deal with this: she could ignore the call and bring more attention to herself, or she could answer it and buy some more time. If she could keep the Mayor at bay for just a couple more days, she might survive this after all. 

Exhaling loudly, she brought the phone to her ear and hit the power button. 

_"Faithy? Is that you?"_

"Yeah, boss. What's the what?" 

_"Manners, young lady. Always greet your caller with a pleasant hello."_

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Uhh, hello." 

_"No reason to be sorry, dear. Unless there's something you need to tell me."_ He waited for Faith to reply, obviously aware of the fact that something was amiss with his slayer. 

"Nope, nothing to report. Got caught up at Willy's this morning. Just got in." 

_"You know, it's funny you should mention Willy's,"_ he began but Faith cut him off. 

"Before ya get into it, yeah – I ran into B. She followed me in and gave me a hard time. She dusted your boy; sorry ‘bout that but I had other shit to deal with," she said, trying to cover all her bases. 

There was a long pause on the other end of the line and Faith felt herself begin to sweat. Silence wasn't good, especially from Richard Wilkins III. The guy could talk your ear off twenty-four hours a day. 

_"Forgive me if I sound a little, well, skeptical, but I find it hard to believe that Buffy Summers killed one of my men but didn't lay a hand on my Faith."_

"She ain't gonna hurt me, boss. She's a white hat," Faith said, finding it hard to swallow her lies. 

_"So you're still my number one girl?"_ he asked, his voice taking on its usual jovial tone. 

Faith couldn't help but smile wryly. "Yeah, boss." 

_"Good. Excellent! I say we celebrate. There's a professor at the university that's getting a little bit too close to some history that could put a real damper on my plans. Are you feeling up to a little murder?"_

Faith's stomach instantly clenched. She'd never taken a life on purpose; hell, she'd barely made it through when she'd accidentally killed Finch. Look where it had led her! How could he ask her to do this? How could he . . . 

And then it dawned on Faith, clear and simple. 

It was a test. He was testing her loyalty. If she did it, he'd know she was still on his side. If she didn't, he'd have her killed. After a betrayal like this, he might even do it himself. She couldn't say no; he'd know something was up. She couldn't have him coming after her when Buffy was so intent on sticking to her side. 

Knowing that she'd have to deal with the consequences later, Faith grabbed a pen from the phone stand and took a deep breath. 

"Just give me the address and I'll take care of it," she said. 

* * *

One of the Council assassins sat with a black headset on, scribbling on a piece of paper as he listened intently. After a few seconds, he took the headset off and turned back to face the other two assassins, showing them the small scrap of paper that had an address scrawled on it. 

"Well now we know where she'll be," he said. 

The tallest of the three men took the paper and looked down at it with a smile. 

"Then all we have to do is bide our time and she'll come to us." 

* * *

The Mayor hung up the phone and rested back in his chair with both arms behind his head, a perfect picture of relaxation. 

"That Summers girl has definitely gotten to her," he pondered aloud, spinning around to face two vampires who were careful to avoid the open blinds across the room. "I want someone watching over the good ol' professor's building night and day. I'm to be informed if and when she shows up. Make sure your boys don't man-handle her. I want my Faithy unharmed unless I give the order." 

"Yes, boss," the vampires said before quickly exiting into the hallway. 

The Mayor spun back around in his chair and faced away from the door, looking up at the dress bag that was hanging on a hook near the window. It was supposed to be a gift. The hem of a flowered sundress hung past the bottom of the bag and he frowned unhappily. 

"Well . . . darn."


	10. Ten

Buffy was waiting in the alley, nervously glancing down at her watch again and again while keeping an eye out for Faith at the same time. Faith had said ten minutes; wait ten minutes and leave. Fifteen minutes had passed and Buffy was still waiting, her anxiety growing every minute.

Had the assassins been waiting in the apartment? Was Faith currently fighting for her life? Was she already dead? 

And most importantly, why the heck was Buffy standing there waiting like a tool when she could be doing something about it? 

Just as she made the decision to sneak into Faith's apartment to see what was taking so long, a black duffel bag flew at her from above. She easily dodged it but wasn't as lucky when a second bag shot over from the other side of the fence. She caught it square in the chest and stumbled back a few steps before regaining her footing. When she looked up, Faith had already scaled the other side of the fence and was hopping over to join her in the alley. 

"'Sup?" Faith said nonchalantly as she collected the first bag from the ground. 

"Really? ‘Sup'? You're five minutes late in a life or death situation and that's what you come up with?" Buffy asked, annoyed yet relieved at the same time. She pushed the second bag into Faith's arms and made to straighten out her own rumpled clothes. 

Faith looked thoughtful for a moment. 

"'Sup, _Mom_?" she asked. When Buffy stopped what she was doing and narrowed her eyes, Faith continued, "Geez, settle down, B. Decided to grab some weapons and lost track of time." 

"For the sake of both our sanities, try to be a bit more punctual. You told me to bail after ten minutes." 

"Alright, sorry. Whatev. Won't happen again." 

There was a noticeable shift in her demeanor and as much as Buffy didn't feel like having a heart to heart in the middle of an alley, she had to ask. 

"Everything okay?" 

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be," Faith said moodily. 

She looked at Buffy expectantly and Buffy, getting the picture that Faith wasn't in the mood for a lecture, began to lead them down the alley. Pulling the list of vacant properties from her pocket, Buffy picked the first address at the top – which happened to be close by – and decided that it would have to suffice for the night. She folded the list neatly and slipped it back into her pocket for safe keeping. 

They were silent only for a few moments more when it seemed as though Faith just couldn't keep a burning question in any longer. Steeling herself for whatever was about to undoubtedly be said, Buffy looked over at Faith and sighed. 

"Just say it already," she said. 

The hint of mischief in Faith's eyes was easy to see. 

"So, for the record," Faith began, "what happens if it does happen again? Will there be a punishment? Some scolding? Not gonna lie here, B: I'm not totally opposed to a nice hearty spanking. Might put me on the straight and narrow once and for all." 

Buffy didn't even have it in her to sigh or roll her eyes this time. This was Faith. This was how Faith got to people. But because Buffy knew that Faith had to be scared underneath all of the bravado – after all, she had agreed to accept help – it didn't seem to annoy her as much as it should have. 

"What do you want me to say to that?" Buffy asked neutrally. "That the next time you step out of line I'll don the corset and thigh-high leather boots and crack the whip?" 

"Hell yeah! Sounds good to me," Faith said enthusiastically, grinning ear to ear. "In fact, why don't you wait here while I disappear for a little while? An hour long enough to encourage some grade-A wrath?" 

Buffy chuckled and shook her head. Leave it to Faith to get inappropriately excited about a little bit of S &M. As amusing as the thought was, this was still a serious situation and they needed to be cautious at all times. 

"Keep your mind in the game, Faith. I'm not here to play Mistress of Pain with you despite how disturbingly fascinated you seem by the idea." 

"Disturbingly fascinated? Can ya really blame me? Put yourself in my position; hot, right?" 

Ignoring her, Buffy continued. "If you really want to disappear for an hour, I guess I can't stop you. In fact, here; I made you a copy of the list Giles gave me." She reached inside her jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, then nonchalantly passed it over to Faith. "Hide out where you want when you're done doing whatever you think it is you need to risk your life for. I'll be at 602 Jonah Circle tonight, seeing as that I'm now as deep in this as you are. If you decide you're ready to put your spanking fantasies aside, you're welcome to join me." 

"God, you really are wound tighter than a fucking pocketwatch. Chill, alright? I was just havin' some fun with ya. You lead, I follow. That's the plan." 

Buffy didn't say anything. She merely kept walking, all too aware of how hard Faith was trying to stay quiet. When they reached a busy street, they took turns scouting in both directions to make sure that there was no sign of the Council goons. When it was obvious that the passersby were only locals, Buffy and Faith made their way across the street as inconspicuously as possibly and ducked behind a brick-faced convenience store. 

While they were there, they ducked inside and gathered a few supplies: bottled water for Buffy, Pepsi for Faith, chips, cereal bars, and other snack food that would get them through at least a day or two. It wasn't exactly gourmet but they weren't sure how long they'd be hiding or what accommodations a vacant house might offer them. 

There was a side street just off the back lot that would take them down to a subdivision they needed to be in so they sneaked out the back door and quickly crossed the lot. The street was tree-lined and quiet with not a whole heck of a lot of traffic. The houses were your average run of the mill residences that were scattered throughout the town, nothing distinguishable about them. They were well-kempt and modest. However, when they reached the end of the street and approached the subdivision of newer homes on Jonah Circle, Faith looked a bit apprehensive. 

"This looks like the kind of place your buddy Cordelia would live," Faith noted. "Don't you think these posh townies are gonna notice us traipsin' through their daisies?" 

"This _is_ the place Cordelia lives, or at least I think it is," Buffy said as they passed a large gated house. "I've never exactly been invited inside. And most of the people who live in these homes have jobs that pay for them. My guess? No one but hired help inside of them at this time of day." 

"Sure hope you're right." 

They continued walking until they reached the last house in the very back of the cul-de-sac. There was a noticeable sale sign on the front lawn that looked like it had been recently mowed. 

"Good. We won't have to worry about landscapers peeking in the windows," Buffy said. 

She took a perfunctory glance behind them to make sure they weren't being watched before making her way along the side of the house with Faith in tow close behind her. Sure enough, there was a lock box on the back door so that the realtor could get in to show potential buyers the house. Buffy gave it a hard tug and the box opened under her slayer strength, dropping the key right into her waiting hand. 

"You take all of the fun out of breaking and entering," Faith groaned. 

"Sorry. You can have at it at the next house we stay in. Just make sure to bring your paperclip and credit card for the lock, MacGyver," Buffy replied, hiding her smile. The smile grew even bigger and more noticeable when she heard Faith snicker behind her. 

She cautiously slid the key in the fancy brass lock and turned it gently, finding no resistance. The door opened without a creak and Buffy slowly stepped inside, taking a quick glance around. 

"Hello?" she called out. It may have seemed silly, shouting a greeting into a vacant house, but who knew if there were any maintenance people lingering inside. 

When there was no reply, Buffy sighed with relief and moved to the side so that Faith could step inside too. Faith didn't waste any time in checking the place out, marveling at everything she laid her eyes on. She tested the tap in the deep kitchen sink and smiled when she discovered that the owners had left the water turned on. 

There was no way the owners of a house this nice would jeopardize a sale by letting the landscaping go to hell. Regular lawn watering was a must! 

"Pretty swank digs," she said, shaking the water from her hands as she looked up at the cathedral ceiling in the kitchen. "Think I could get used to being on the lam if it means we get to stay in places like this." 

"Too bad it's not furnished," Buffy said. 

"What, princess can't sleep on the floor for a few nights?" Faith asked, winking over her shoulder so that Buffy knew she was just kidding. 

"No, it's just that at home I have a bed. And blankets and a pillow. Two in fact." She paused for a moment and frowned. "And clean clothes. I just realized that I pretty much only have the clothes on my back." 

"That right there describes the better part of my teenage years so far," Faith threw out casually and must not have noticed Buffy's shocked reaction to that as she changed the subject. "Ya wanna slip back to your Ma's, get some stuff?" 

Buffy shook her head. "No, it's too risky. If they can't find us in town, they'll be staking out the familiar places. We'll sit tight for today and I can pick up some necessities when we move to the next place on the list tomorrow." 

Suddenly Faith was facing her looking pretty dismayed. "Why the hell can't we just stay here? This place is top notch and I'm pretty sure I saw a pool behind the tennis court. A fricken pool, B!" 

"Because it's not exactly ‘on the run' if we stay in one place. The more we move around, the less chance they have of finding us. Giles said he'll have Angel patrol until this has all blown over, so all we have to do is sit tight at night when they're most likely to find us and move during the day when there are lots of people around." 

"Why can't we just sic the vamp on the baddies? Pretty sure it ain't gonna make a big diff if your boy adds a few more fatalities to his ever-growing naughty list," Faith said casually. 

Buffy's first reaction was to lash out and defend Angel but anger and fighting would get them nowhere right now, especially since they were apparently stuck together for the foreseeable future. Instead, she took a deep breath and shook off the anger. 

"I'm pretty sure Angel will object to killing humans and I can't say I blame him. We can't play judge, jury and executioner. They need to go to jail so they can be dealt with properly." At Faith's lack of response, Buffy continued. "And he's not my ‘boy.'" 

That one got Faith's attention. 

"Since when?" 

"Since . . . I don't know. But he's moving to Los Angeles." 

"Sorry," Faith said quietly but without any sincerity. 

It didn't even bother Buffy who managed a small smile before turning away and heading toward a different room. Faith followed after her and they explored the rest of the house quietly, stopping to rest only when they reached the last room: the master bedroom on the second floor. It was huge, practically the size of Buffy's entire house, and there was an en suite bathroom with a Jacuzzi bath tub. 

"I've died and gone to squatter heaven," Faith said. "This is so my room." 

"We should probably stick together. Safest that way and less chance of someone stumbling upon one of us if we're both up here." 

Faith thought about it for only a moment before shrugging. "Fine, but fair warning: I sleep in my birthday suit. You get an eyeful, not my prob." 

They made a silent agreement and Faith dropped her bags down on the floor near the bathroom door. There was electricity but they didn't dare turn on a light or draw any unnecessary attention to them selves. Hours passed and Faith spent time bouncing a small rubber ball she'd found buried at the bottom of her bag against a nearby wall. The constant bouncing would have driven Buffy nuts if she hadn't had something to focus on. 

Staring at the cell phone in her hand was all the distraction she needed. She knew that Giles had to work and take care of some issues, but it was already past eight o'clock and they still hadn't heard a peep from him. 

The sound of loud crunching pulled Buffy from her thoughts and she looked over to see Faith digging into yet another bag of chips. She'd finished off two bags earlier and now she was working on the last one. 

"You're going to finish off our supplies before we go to bed if you keep up at that pace," Buffy noted, her thumb wiping over the clear screen of the cell phone. 

"So we'll get more tomorrow," Faith replied with a shrug. "We're slayers, B. Made us so we gotta put plenty o' fuel in the killing machine." 

"If you start touting your H &H theory, I may have to gag you with your own sock," Buffy replied. 

She glanced up from the phone to find Faith smirking but – thankfully – keeping her lips sealed. Faith tipped the bag of chips up over her mouth and caught the last few crumbs in her mouth before crinkling the bag up in her hand and tossing it on the floor beside her. Buffy looked back down at the phone and made a mental note that it wasn't up to her to make sure that Faith cleaned up after herself. 

Another hour passed by with an almost comfortable silence between them. It was dark out now and the only light was from the moon and the street lamps shining in through the three large windows against the front wall. 

Finally frustrated with staring at the phone, Buffy tossed it onto the thick carpeting next to her and raised her arms over her head, stretching her back. She saw Faith digging around in her jacket pocket and hoped it was for something to wipe her hands off on. Her curiosity was piqued when she noticed Faith pull a small piece of paper from her pocket and glance down at it. First Faith looked surprised but that quickly faded away and left only what looked like annoyance or anger behind. 

"What's the matter?" Buffy asked cautiously. 

Faith seemed to suddenly remember herself and she quickly tucked the paper back in her pocket. "Nothing," she grumbled. "Just gettin' antsy. Need to do something with myself." 

"Go for a swim. Take a shower. That Jacuzzi tub looks pretty inviting. There's no bubble bath but I'm sure you can trade one luxury for another," Buffy replied, trying to be helpful. 

She didn't like the sudden look in Faith's eyes. It was like Faith was reminded that she was scared and angry and that it was starting to make her crawl inside her own skin. And judging by the way Faith was suddenly up and on her feet, Buffy had a feeling that she was right. 

"Listen, if I'm gonna be a white hat, I'm going all out. Angel might be strong but he's not a slayer. I'm gonna go and do a quick sweep, see if I can bag me some bad guys." 

She was waiting for some kind of response and all Buffy could do was look at her with her mouth open in disbelief. After a moment she shook it off enough to speak. 

"Are you insane!" 

Okay, not as calm as she was hoping for. 

"Nine outta ten doctors would say so," Faith replied with a shrug. When Buffy just glared at her, Faith continued. "I'm gonna avoid cemeteries and I won't go near my apartment or the motel. I'll be back in a few hours. I just need to let off some steam." 

Buffy shook her head and stood up, trying to find the right words. It was really difficult when all of the words on the tip of her tongue involved some arrangement of "What the fuck are you thinking?" and "Are you fucking stupid?" 

"You want to let off some steam? Fine, let's spar. You walk out that door and you put yourself exactly where they want you: vulnerable and alone. I saw you die, Faith. And hey, maybe by us being here we've changed the future. Yay us. But if you go out, it could lead you right to the place where I saw it all happen." 

"Buffy, I'm not a moron. I'm not gonna go walkin' on up to someplace I've never been and ask to be let inside so some fuckers can use me as target practice. From now on, careful is my middle name," Faith said. She bent down and dug around in the black duffel bag until she had what she was looking for. Standing up, she tucked a stake in one pocket and a long silver knife in one of her boots. 

"Faith . . ." Buffy began but Faith cut her off. 

"Jesus Christ, B. You can come with me if ya want. Gotta warn ya though, I'm not payin' for the babysitting service." She waited for a response but was met with only silence and a pair of nervous eyes that were locked on her. "Well? Ya coming or not." 

Buffy thought about it for nearly a minute. She could go with Faith. They were stronger together than they were alone and that was a proven fact. Still, if they were seen together, her mother, friends, and her watcher would all be in jeopardy. There was no knowing the lengths the assassins would go to in order to get the info they wanted. She couldn't put them through that because Faith had a death wish. 

"No," Buffy replied quietly, taking a step back. 

Faith didn't say anything else. She made sure she had everything she needed and gave Buffy one last look before turning around and walking out the door. 

Buffy could hear her footsteps echo as she made it down the stairs, followed closely by the almost inaudible sound of the back door closing softly. She sat back down against the inner wall and rested her head back against it. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and sighed. 

Against her better judgment, she picked up the cell phone and open the contact list. There was only one number programmed in it. Hesitating for just a moment, she finally hit send and brought the phone up to her ear. The line rang several times before someone picked up. 

"Giles, it's me. Yeah, I got the package. Uh-huh. Yeah, she came with me." 

As Giles spoke to her, Buffy played over the events of the day in her mind. Faith hadn't been out of her sight since they left Willy's. She'd seemed fine all day until . . . until she'd gone into her apartment. And then she'd played like she was okay until she pulled out whatever was in her pocket. 

Something was definitely up. 

"Yes, I understand. But . . . I think we might have a problem." 

* * *

Just outside the back door, Faith looked behind her to make sure that Buffy hadn't followed her down. When she was sure that she was alone, she slipped her hand inside her jacket pocket and pulled the scrap of paper from it. 

The grease from the chips had smudged the ink a bit but it was still legible. 

"Okay, Lester Worth. Let's see why you're so special." 

Sighing, she tucked the paper back in her pocket and began to walk across the back lawn.


	11. Eleven

Faith walked with her hands in her pockets through the back yards of the affluent neighborhood until she reached another quiet side street. Her spidey-sense was tingling and she knew that there were vampires lurking in the not-so-far cemetery just a block or two over. She didn't have time for slaying though, despite what she'd told Buffy. Her plan was to go to check out the situation with Lester Worth and make an impromptu decision on how to make it through this unscathed if that was at all possible.

The sad fact was, she knew she could out-live the assassins even though they were armed. Guns weren't anything new in her life and if she stayed hidden, they'd never find her. But turning her back on the mayor, a guy who had some kind of crazy hard-on for evil, she was sure that would end with her six feet under. It would be almost impossible to hide from a guy who practically owned the town. 

She caught a small rock with the toe of her boot and kicked it along in front of her for nearly a mile. It was just the distraction she needed to keep her mind off of her imminent doom. When she finally reached the building she was looking for, she glanced up at it and took a deep breath. 

God, she really did hang around with the Scoobies too much. Who ever thought that she'd be the kind of girl to break into a school? 

Shaking her head, she walked around the building until she found an opened window and boosted herself up into the empty classroom. The halls were dark and still and she stayed as quiet as she could be as she crept along, hoping beyond hope that there was no night janitor on duty. The last thing she needed now was a confrontation. 

She eventually found herself standing at the door to the library, hesitant to enter. This was the Scoobies' inner sanctum. It felt wrong going in there, especially since she'd hopped sides, but it was a different situation now, right? Buffy told her that they wanted to help her now. 

Steeling herself, she took another deep breath and walked through the double doors. 

The library seemed even darker than the rest of the school and the silence was almost deafening. Her enhanced vision aided her well, though, and she easily made her way to Giles' office where she turned on his computer. She sat down and relaxed while it booted up, then clicked on the web browser. She wasn't exactly sure what she was doing but she had pretty basic computer skills thanks to the mayor's secretary. 

She managed to open a search engine and clumsily typed in the professor's name using just her index fingers. A slew of entries came up about research papers he'd contributed to and his work with the college. Nothing seemed out of the sort; he appeared to be just your every day run of the mill college professor who smiled for all of his pictures and who everyone liked. He did volunteer work for local charities and was on the Sunnydale Council for Youth Education Services. He even ran a few charity campaigns for impoverished peoples around the globe that he'd met during archaeological digs at dormant volcanoes. 

"Great, I'm supposed to kill fucking Gandhi," she mumbled to herself. 

She had no idea what made this guy a target for Mayor Wilkins but she knew it had to be something bad. Sexual harassment? Pedophilia? Embezzlement? Fraud? 

Nope. None of that. An hour of searching and Faith had to conclude that the guy was squeaky clean. Practically a saint. 

And then she stumbled across an article that piqued her curiosity. She clicked on the link and found a recent interview with the professor by a local historical society. They hinted at one of his latest archaeological finds – some kind of undiscovered species – and how he was going to present the data to the world in just a few short days. 

There were lots of pieces missing in the puzzle, but if any of those pieces would interfere with whatever the mayor was planning, she was sure that was reason enough for the mayor to have him killed. 

The only kink in the plan was that Professor Worth was a human and a pretty damned good one at that. There was no way she could kill him. Not by her own choice; not when he didn't deserve it. She'd only ever taken one human life and that had been an accident. There was no way she could do it on purpose, especially to a guy like this. 

Especially now that Buffy finally had her back. 

The sound of the double doors swinging open caught her attention and she quickly switched off the monitor to avoid being caught just as an overhead light in the library was turned on. She squatted down and peeked through the doorway to find Giles and Willow walking through the library and settling down at a table not too far from where she was hiding. They were talking – no, arguing – about some kind of magic and Willow's ability to use it, which gave Faith the perfect opportunity to slink out of the office and to the back of the stacks. She hid there for a few minutes, lost in her thoughts and barely paying attention to their conversation; she had bigger things on her mind. 

When Giles and Willow headed off deeper into the library to fetch some books from a caged section, Faith took that as her chance to get out of there. She stealthily crept along the stacks and out the double doors, leaving them swinging quietly behind her. 

********************

Giles walked back to the main part of the library with a stack of books in his arms. The slight swaying of the double doors caught his attention and he stopped walking, focusing on them. 

"Willow?" he called out quietly. 

"Yeah-huh?" she replied, poking her head around a tall shelf off to the side. 

Giles looked over at her and then back to the doors that were now still. He observed them carefully before shaking his head and giving her a tired smile. 

"Never mind, dear." 

********************

Faith left the school and decided to take a different way back to the house they were staying at. She had a lot on her mind and didn't need to deal with Buffy questioning her and looking at her in that disapproving way that only Buffy could do. She was all too familiar with that look and just couldn't deal with it right then. 

She tucked her hands in her pockets and walked with her head down, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Avoiding the main streets was pretty easy once you knew the lay of the land. Sunnydale was way smaller than Boston and Faith had it pretty much mapped out after her first two weeks there. The assassins were out there looking for her but they didn't know the town like she did or the nooks and crannies that provided the best hiding places. 

Not that Faith was used to hiding, but she knew where she could stow away in a cinch if the need be. 

As she thought more and more about her situation, she realized that there was no easy way out of it. If she didn't do what the mayor asked, he'd kill her. If she did what the mayor asked, the assassins would kill her. If Buffy found out that Faith had lied to her about where she was going tonight, Buffy would probably kill her, or at least do some serious maiming. 

No matter what angle she looked at it from, it was a lose/lose situation. Her stomach sunk when she realized that she was probably going to have to do what she apparently did best: run like a coward. 

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't realize where she'd walked into nor did she feel her spidey-sense going off letting her know that danger was at bay. Only when someone stepped into her path did she finally look up and realize where she was: 

In the middle of a fucking cemetery – where she'd promised she wouldn't be – and surrounded by six of the mayor's vampire henchmen. 

"Aren't you headed in the wrong direction?" the biggest of them asked. He was vamped out and standing directly in front of Faith, staring into her surprised eyes. 

Faith realized herself quickly and sneered, looking more than a little bit pissed off. 

"I'm gonna be generous here. You have exactly five seconds to get your wrinkly mug outta my face, which is exactly five more seconds than you deserve." 

The vampire snarled but, knowing his place, backed up a few steps. The other vampires didn't move and watched Faith carefully, noting her every breath and movement. When she shot them all a glare, each vamp took another step back, giving her ample space and them more of a head start in case she went berserk. 

"The boss gave you a job and he expects you to take care of it," the biggest vamp said. 

"Yeah, well the boss is gonna have to be patient," Faith replied briefly. 

"Cold feet isn't a valid excuse for not doing your j . . ." the vamps eyes went wide and he looked down, surprised. Faith had closed the distance between them and managed to stake him in just a split second. He disappeared into a cloud of dust, leaving his companions looking on in shock. 

"Are we good here or does anyone else wanna tell me how to do my job?" Faith asked, her voice low. 

The remaining vampires, instead of backing down, snarled loudly and closed in on Faith. The first kick to her back caught her by surprise and she grunted with pain. She spun on her heel and brought the stake down quickly enough to dust the vamp who had sucker-kicked her. She didn't have time to revel in her victory over him though because there were still four more vamps circling and around her. 

"And then there were four," she said, trying to hide the pain in her voice. Her back was on fire and she was pretty sure that one of her kidneys was about to explode if it hadn't already. 

"Pretty sure the boss is gonna love to hear about how you failed to follow his orders and about how you killed his men when confronted," one of the vamps taunted. 

"Guess I'll just have to kill you all then, huh," Faith replied. Her senses prickled and she spun just in time to catch a fist that was aimed at her head. She twisted it in her hands and felt the bone break and puncture through the skin, sending blood pouring onto the grass below. 

"You bitch!" the vamp howled. He kicked out and caught her on the knee, sending her stumbling backwards. The sickening crunch her knee made didn't stop Faith who lunged forward toward him in a rage. He gasped when she easily overpowered him and pushed her stake against his chest. 

He exploded into a shower of dust and Faith tilted her head to side, cracking her sore neck. The three remaining vampires looked from where he had been standing up to Faith who was waiting in a defensive stance with her weight off of her injured knee. A female vamp jumped at her next, waving a small silver blade back and forth. Faith reached out to knock the blade away but the vamp saw it coming and sliced into Faith's forearm before dodging back out of her grasp. 

Faith looked down and saw blood seeping out of the fresh cut in her leather jacket. "Alright, now I'm pissed," she grunted. 

Instead of waiting for the next attack on her, she leaped forward and grabbed the nearest vamp by his shirt. She pulled him forward and then lifted him enough so that she could toss him to the ground and wind him. He lay there, stunned, and she brought the stake down hard into his chest. Unfortunately for her, she didn't pull it back in time and it disappeared as the vamp turned into dust. 

Struggling back to her feet, she pulled her favorite silver knife from inside her jacket and faced the last two vamps, smiling coldly. The male vamp charged her but she ducked and stuck her shoulder into his abdomen, flipping him easily over her shoulder. He landed hard on the ground with a loud thud and lay there, dazed. 

"Sorry bud, but one of ya has to live," she said. 

The female vampire suddenly looked scared as she started stepping backwards. "Why does he get to live?" 

Faith flew at her, dealing blow after blow to her chest while avoiding each swipe of the panicking vamp's knife. Only when the vamp's back was to a tree did Faith relent and look her in the eye. 

"Because he didn't ruin my jacket, bitch." 

Quicker than the vamp could react, Faith used all of her power to slice the blade through the air. She caught the female vamp under her chin and cut her head clean off in one swipe, sending a shower of dust down to the grass. 

The sole remaining vampire was struggling to get to his feet when Faith turned around. She pocketed her knife and began to slowly limp over to him. 

"This is how this is gonna work," Faith began as she got closer. "You're gonna get a second chance. It's not because I like ya. It's not because you're lucky. It's because you're the last vamp standing – or trying to stand – and I need a messenger. You gonna play nice, or do I shoot the messenger?" 

The vamp nodded enthusiastically, his eyes wide with fear. "I'll be the messenger." 

"Good boy," Faith said with a mocking smile. "You tell the mayor that jobs like this take time if I wanna avoid being tossed in jail. Tell him to gimme a couple days." 

"I will. I'll tell him just like that," the vamp said nervously. 

"And tell him thanks for the exercise but if he keeps sendin' his boys after me, he ain't gonna have no boys left." She winked at him and then hobbled off through the graveyard, hoping she'd make it home before her knee gave out for good. 

* * *

Faith made it across the yard and through the back door of the house with very little energy left to spare. Her knee was so swollen that her jeans were pulled taut and looked like they were about to split on either side of her knee. There was a good chance that the tightness of the material was the only thing stopping her leg from giving every time she put the smallest bit of weight on it. 

She rested against the countertop for a few minutes to catch her breath and tossed some cold water onto her face and hands from the kitchen sink. She cupped her hands and gulped some water from them and that was when she remembered the slice on her forearm. Between her back pain and knee pain, she'd been easily able to forget about the stinging cut. 

Gingerly pulling the jacket from her body, she tossed it up on the counter and looked down at the angry red wound. Slayer healing was working on it already but it still looked like it could use a few stitches. Her and hospitals were unmixy things though so she gritted her teeth and ran her arm under the stream of cold water. She sucked in a deep breath through her teeth and clenched her eyes shut tightly as the water flowed inside and around the cut. So long as it was clean, she could deal with the time it would take to heal. 

Finally opening her eyes after a few minutes, she turned the faucet off and wiped her wet arm off on her shirt. She grabbed her jacket from the counter and spun around to see Buffy standing there looking . . . not pissed. Worried? 

"What happened to you?" Buffy asked quietly. 

Faith shrugged, trying to play it off, but the slight lift of her shoulders sent a wave of pain down her back and she hissed. "Was just walkin around. Lost track of where I was, ended up in a cemetery. Mayor sent a few of his boys to find me. They're history, but they got in a few licks before their untimely demise." 

"A few?" Buffy asked doubtfully. 

"Six," Faith replied, preparing herself for some kind of tirade. It never came though. 

Buffy took a deep breath and approached Faith, then took hold of her wrist so that she could inspect her forearm. "Where else are you hurt?" 

"Knee. Back. Ego." 

Buffy glanced up at her and Faith smiled apologetically but Buffy didn't smile back. Instead she walked behind Faith and lifted up her shirt, checking out her back. There was a huge dark bruise on her middle back in the shape of a boot. She shook her head sadly. 

"Well, now we know for sure that the mayor is no longer on Team Faith." She lowered Faith's shirt and moved around to face her. "And that's why we have to stick together, Faith. No patrolling, no wandering. We hide out like we're supposed to and where you go, I go. It's not because I'm trying to control you. It's because I'm trying to keep the both of us safe so we can survive the whole series of craptastic events that I saw in the vision." 

"I know, B," Faith said, lowering her gaze. 

"So can we just call a truce again," Buffy asked, trying to look into Faith's eyes. Faith sensed that and looked up to Buffy's pleading face. "We've both screwed up, we both drive each other crazy. There's no denying that. But we're on the same team and it's time the both of us start acting that way. So, truce? For real this time?" 

Faith took in a deep breath through her nose and looked into Buffy's eyes for longer than she ever had before. She knew Buffy was being sincere. She knew Buffy genuinely wanted to help her. 

Which was all the more reason why she had to make sure that Buffy didn't get hurt in all of this. 

She mustered up a weak smile and nodded her head despite her inner turmoil. 

"Alright, B. Truce. Whatever it takes to keep ya safe." 

"And you too," Buffy quickly cut in. "We're trying to keep you safe too." 

"Yeah," Faith replied. She tore her gaze away from Buffy's and looked down, hoping Buffy wouldn't see the hesitation in her eyes. Apparently it worked because Buffy smiled satisfactorily and nodded. 

"Good. Since we have all of that settled, let's get you upstairs and into the Jacuzzi tub. I snuck out and got some first aid supplies from a neighbor's house." 

"You borrowed stuff from a neighbor?" 

"No, I _stole_ stuff from a neighbor. Maybe a couple of blankets and pillows too. It's their fault that they don't have a security system and that their dog-door is big enough for a wily girl my size to climb through," Buffy said easily. She ducked under Faith's arm and braced it over her shoulder so that she could help her hobble along and take some weight off of her knee. 

Faith looked shocked. "You did actual breaking and entering?" At Buffy's nod, she continued. "And you didn't wait for me? I'm wounded, B." 

"For the record, I'm blaming your influence if anyone asks," Buffy teased. 

"I wasn't even here!" 

"No, you were out slaying when you were supposed to be hiding." 

That one made Faith shut up. She thought it over for a few seconds and shrugged. "Alright, fine. One stupid decision for another. We're even." 

"Great. Now let's get you up these stairs and into a nice tub full of Epsom salts. We need you back in top physical condition before our next move. Giles said we should stay here for one more night before we move again, so you have about a day and a half to get better, give or take." 

"Geez, talk about pressuring a girl." Suddenly Faith grinned. "Actually, I don't mind pressure from you. Especially if you wanna apply it with your fingers or your tong . . ." 

"Don't make me drown you in the bathtub," Buffy interrupted, trying to hide her amusement. 

"How you gonna do that? Gonna get in there with me, let me see how long I can hold my breath?" She wiggled her eyebrows playfully, ignoring the pain in her knee and back as they climbed the stairs. 

"Faith," Buffy warned, still trying to hide her smile. 

"I know, I know. Truce."


	12. Twelve

Buffy managed to get Faith up the stairs without too much of a problem. She already had the supplies she'd stolen from the neighbor stashed in the bedroom so setting up a nice hot bath with some Epsom salts didn't take her long at all. Faith stood against the wall and waited for her to finish prepping the tub and offered her thanks when Buffy helped her from the bedroom into the big bathroom.

The tub was nice and deep and steam was steadily rising from the surface. Faith groaned with appreciation as Buffy put the toilet lid down and helped her down on it so that she could get undressed. 

"Thanks, B. You're a star." 

"It's nothing. I can't have you injured if we're supposed to be stealthy about this hiding out thing." 

"Well, whatever. I appreciate it." 

Their eyes met and neither girl seemed to know exactly what to say or do next. Buffy finally managed a tentative smile and took a few steps back. 

"Hang on, I'll grab your bag for you. You'll probably want to change out of those bloody clothes." 

She stepped quickly into the bedroom and grabbed Faith's duffle bag and when she re-entered the bathroom, Faith already had her shirt off and was reaching behind her back to unclasp her bra. 

"Whoa!" Buffy said and unexpectedly tossed the bag in Faith's direction, quickly spinning around so that her back was to the girl. "A little warning next time might be nice." 

"Are you blushing?" Faith teased and Buffy could practically hear her smirk. "You're too easy. I didn't even unleash the twins yet. You sure ya don't wanna sneak a peek? Word on the street they're pretty nice." 

"If I feel so inclined to check out a nice pair, I have my own to look at, thank you very much," Buffy replied, trying to fight off her embarrassment. 

"Touché." 

"If you throw your dirty clothes out the door when you're undressed, I'll try to wash the blood out in the kitchen sink." She grabbed the door knob and began to close the door behind her as she walked back into the bedroom but Faith stopped her. 

"B, wait a sec!" Buffy stopped and glanced warily over her shoulder, waiting for Faith to continue. "I just wanna say . . . uh, thanks. Yunno. For everything." 

"You don't need to thank me," Buffy said quietly, looking down at her feet again. "It's the kind of thing friends do for each other, right?" 

She managed to glance up at Faith and met her eyes again. Neither girl could seem to look away but it was Buffy that eventually did first. She closed the door and waited just on the other side until it opened again and Faith's soiled clothes landed on the floor with a soft thud. She picked them up as the door closed and looked down at them, shaking her head. 

Why the heck had she volunteered for laundry service? How was she supposed to get blood out of Faith's clothes without any detergent? 

"Nice, Buffy. Maybe when you're done getting these stains out, you can walk on water and impress the townsfolk," she said to herself. 

"You talkin' to me?" Faith shouted from inside the bathroom. 

"No," Buffy shouted back. "If you need help . . ." 

"What, you gonna wash my back? Maybe my front?" 

Buffy rolled her eyes and walked out of the room before Faith could get any worse or decided to actually ask for help. 

* * *

Buffy made her way back up the stairs and into the bedroom just as Faith was entering the bedroom from the bathroom. She paused in the doorway for a moment as Faith hobbled across the room in just a big t-shirt. Had it been Willow in just a t-shirt it wouldn't have bothered her because Willow was her best friend, but this was Faith. Faith, who had been flirting with her since the night they'd first met and who flaunted her goodies like nobody's business. 

It was different with Faith. 

She felt different with Faith. 

Suddenly aware of the realization she'd just come to and how it could be interpreted by others, namely by those in the psychology profession, she quickly made her way into the room and to where she'd set up a couple of blankets on the ground. She made herself busy straightening them up while Faith foraged through the grocery bags. 

"I managed to get most of the blood out of your clothes," Buffy said. "Well, your blood, anyhow. There might be some of mine on them now from scrubbing so hard. They're hanging up to dry over the railing by the stairs." 

"Thanks," Faith replied absently. "You mind if I eat some of this stuff? You know what slaying does to a girl." 

"As you've theorized to anyone that'll listen," Buffy said sarcastically. "Help yourself. It only has to last through tomorrow, we can re-stock when we move to the next house on the list." 

"Great." Faith immediately grabbed a bag of cookies and tore into them, chewing enthusiastically. Suddenly the bag was dangling next to Buffy's face. "Ya want some before I scarf ‘em all?" 

"Scarf away," Buffy replied, gingerly pushing the bag away from her face. "I'm gonna get some sleep. I want to be awake early to keep an eye out for any maintenance people who might come by. I wasn't sure where you wanted your blankets set up so," she indicated the blankets laid out just a foot or two away from her own. 

"It's cool," Faith replied. "We can snuggle." 

Buffy raised an eyebrow and looked over at Faith who was smirking as she munched away on her cookies. Faith waggled her eyebrows and Buffy couldn't help but chuckle quietly while shaking her head. Sliding under the thin blanket, Buffy pulled it up to her neck and wriggled around, much to Faith's amusement, until she produced her pants out the top and placed them next to her on the ground. 

"Neat trick," Faith replied. 

"Before you ask me to try it on you: you're not wearing any pants." Buffy said preemptively. 

"So you noticed then." 

Deciding that she needed to change the subject yet again – Faith really did seem to have a one-track mind – she ventured into safer territory. 

"How's your knee feeling?" 

Faith, whose legs were stretched flat out in front of her, slowly slid them up until they were slightly bent at the knee. It was still swollen and discolored but it definitely looked better. 

"It's gettin' there. Some food, some sleep; it'll be back to new by morning." 

"Good. Since we're trapped here for another day, we can spar a little, let you test it out." 

"Wicked. You know I can't pass up an opportunity to get sweaty with ya, B." 

Buffy shook her head in disbelief. How did they always end up back there? She rolled over onto her side and made sure the blanket was suitably covering her before taking a deep, soothing breath. She hoped Faith followed in her steps soon; she didn't want to think about what trouble the brunette might get up to as she lay quietly sleeping in the same room. 

She closed her eyes and tried to drown out the sound of Faith munching away on whatever snack she'd moved on to once the cookies were devoured, but sleep just wouldn't find her. Even when Faith put the bags of food away and settled down onto her makeshift bed, Buffy still lay there awake. 

It was nearly an hour after they'd lain down to sleep when Buffy rolled over onto her other side so that she was facing Faith who was only a couple of feet away. Much to her surprise, Faith was wide awake and looking back at her. 

"Can't sleep?" Faith asked. 

Buffy shook her head. "Too much on my mind, I guess." 

"Yeah." 

Buffy closed her eyes and, when she opened them a few minutes later, she saw Faith was still looking at her. Seeing as that they were getting along well enough and that Faith seemed pretty mellow right now, she figured that she'd ask her something that had been eating away at her since it had happened. 

"Can I ask you a question?" 

Faith nodded and propped her head up on her elbow, giving Buffy all of her attention. 

"After I tranq'd you, at my house," Buffy began, ". . . why did you . . ." she trailed off, unable to bring herself to say it aloud. 

"Kiss you?" Faith asked. When Buffy nodded, she shrugged a little bit. "Figured that we were probably about to kill each other. Thought it was a damn shame for one or both of us to die without ever trying it." 

"Oh," Buffy replied. She hadn't really expected that answer. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but that certainly wasn't it. 

"What?" Faith asked, her brow furrowed. 

Buffy shook her head. "Nothing. Guess I was just expecting . . . something else." 

"Like what? Like," Faith put her hand to her chest and made her eyes all big and innocent, " ‘oh Buffy, I love you more than butterflies and puppy dogs and I have so much gay love for you that I just had to taste your sweet sweet lips'?" 

Buffy's lack of amusement must have been apparent and Faith burst out laughing, a huge smile gracing her lips. 

"Sorry, B. That ain't me. You want declarations of undying love, go buy a book by Willie Shakespeare. You just happen to look even hotter when you're pissed and I figured that if I was gonna die, I might as well've gotten something good outta it. Always wanted to try it and the opportunity presented itself. Can't hold me responsible for that." 

And while Buffy was sure that she hadn't been looking for some declaration of undying love, she was pretty sure that she didn't like Faith's explanation any better. It was a good thing that Faith wasn't harboring any lesbirific love for her, but still . . . the fact that it had meant nothing kind of stung. 

"Well now that you've gotten it out of your system, you can keep your lips far from mine," she said. 

Faith didn't reply; she just grinned in a manner that made Buffy want to stab her with a spork. The brunette rested her head back down on her pillow but kept her gaze fixed on Buffy. A few minutes passed by and, unable to take the weird staring any longer, Buffy had to ask another question that was plaguing her mind. 

She propped her head up on her hand and studied Faith for a moment before asking, "Why did you really leave here tonight?" 

Buffy had never seen a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car before but she suspected it looked a little bit like Faith did right then. Still, after a moment of what appeared to be panic passed by, Faith was back to her usual calm and cool self. 

"To patrol, B. Just because we're hiding doesn't mean the baddies are." 

"But that's the thing," Buffy said, propping herself up ever further so that she was resting on her elbow. "You haven't been patrolling for weeks. I've been going solo ever since you started working for Mayor Wilkins. Why the sudden need to start again now when you know that there are people out there looking for you?" 

A completely passive look took its place on Faith's face and Faith shrugged like it was nothing. "Guess I just thought if I'm gonna be a good guy again, I've gotta jump right back into it." 

Without saying anything else, Faith rolled onto her back and rested her arms under her head. She stared up at the ceiling and pretended not to notice Buffy still gazing over at her. 

Buffy watched her for a few more moments before shaking her head and laying back down, pulling the blankets back up under her chin. 

"You're not telling me something," Buffy said. She watched as Faith's jaw clenched, then as the girl turned on her side so that her back was to Buffy. 

"Sweet dreams, B." 

The conversation obviously over, Buffy sighed and closed her eyes, hoping to find sleep. 

* * *

Buffy awoke to the sound of a dog barking somewhere in the neighborhood. When she opened her eyes, it was still almost pitch dark in the room, the moonlight the only bit of illumination. She immediately noticed that Faith was no longer laying down and she immediately sat up, her senses on full alert. 

Dammit! If Faith ran away after all they'd been through . . .! 

Buffy suddenly realized that there was a sliver of light coming from under the bathroom door. She focused her senses and could hear a soft rustling from within the bathroom, evidence enough that Faith was still in fact there. 

However, when almost ten minutes passed by and Faith still hadn't emerged, Buffy became worried. Climbing out from beneath the covers, she silently approached the door and rested her ear against the painted wood, listening for any signs of life. It only took a few seconds for her to jump back from the door, nearly losing her balance when her foot got caught in Faith's blankets. 

Faith was definitely inside the bathroom. Yup. And judging by the soft sighs and moans she was making along with a soft wet clicking sound, Buffy knew exactly what she was up to. 

Apparently, the hungry and horny theory wasn't just a theory for Faith. 

Buffy quickly made her way back to her makeshift bed and climbed beneath the covers, trying her best to get back into the same exact position she'd been in when she woke up. She'd just finished arranging the blanket around her when the bathroom door opened and the light clicked off, keeping the room nice and dark. The sound of soft footsteps filled the room and Buffy tried to control her breathing so that it looked like she was still sleeping. 

She could hear Faith climbing back under her blankets as the smell of sex filled the room around them. Clenching her eyes shut tightly, Buffy hoped that Faith would just go to sleep now so that they could just get though this night and she could repress this before the morning came. 

But just when it seemed as though Faith had finally settled in, she heard another rustling noise behind her. It was the unmistakable sound of blankets brushing over carpet. Was Faith getting closer to her? 

The answer to that question came in the feel of a warm breath exhaled softly close enough to the back of her neck that it sent a chill down her spine. Buffy willed herself not to move even as she felt the heat of Faith's body, so close to her own but not touching. She waited for Faith to touch, to cross the distance and the imaginary boundary that always seemed to be between them. 

The touch never came though. A few minutes later, Buffy heard – and felt – Faith breath steady against the back of her neck. 

She'd fallen asleep. 

She'd scooted close enough to spoon and had fallen asleep. 

Thoroughly perplexed, Buffy closed her eyes and tried to focus on her own breathing. Unwillingly, she seemed to fall into rhythm with Faith's steady breaths and soon enough, Buffy was asleep as well. 

* * *

The sound of birds chirping and a lawnmower rumbling loudly woke Buffy from her slumber. A small smile formed on her lips as she basked in the warm morning sun spilling in over her from the large window. She was warm. She was content. She was relaxed. 

And she was spooning Faith! 

Her eyes shot open wide and Buffy froze, her body going completely rigid. At some point during the night, she'd turned around and wrapped her arm around Faith whose back was nestled up against her. Her hand was . . . yep, it was under the front of Faith's shirt and touching warm, soft skin. 

Wincing, Buffy pressed her lips together to keep from squeaking in horror. Ever so slowly, she began to slide her hand out of Faith's shirt. 

That was when she realized that Faith wasn't breathing steadily. In fact, she was pretty sure that Faith's body began shaking gently. 

And . . . yep, Faith was laughing. 

"Where ya goin, B? Thought you were about to steal second." 

Buffy quickly pulled her hand away like she'd been burned and sat up, pulling the covers around herself. 

"That wasn't my fault. I wouldn't have been using you as a pillow if you hadn't gotten so close to me during the night," Buffy lamely defended. 

"Pillow? Pillows go under your head, blondie. You were about an inch away from a handful of ti . . ." 

"Enough!" Buffy interrupted loudly. "Tonight you sleep in the bathtub. Bring this up again and I'll make sure it's full of water before I put you in it." 

Faith sat up and stretched, a sly smile on her face as she all but ignored Buffy. 

"Rarr, someone woke up on the wrong side of the uber-hot body." 

"Faith!" Buffy yelled. 

"I know, I know," Faith held up her hands in mock surrender. "Any more of that and I'm sleepin' with the fishes. Got the memo. We got anything breakfasty to eat?" 

Buffy clenched her jaw and grabbed the food bag, then tossed it over to Faith. Without looking at the girl, she got up and made her way into the bathroom . . . completely forgetting that she wasn't wearing any pants still. Closing the door behind her, she could hear Faith snickering from the other room, 

"Can spoon me anytime in that outfit." 

Banging her head back against the door, Buffy closed her eyes and sighed. She was never going to live that one down.


	13. Thirteen

They'd spent the better part of the day hiding out in separate rooms on the upper floor of the house, trying to remain out of sight so that any nosy neighbors wouldn't spot them and call the police. Even though she'd showered, Buffy felt pretty grimy in her old clothes and she was already losing her patience with the squatting situation despite that fact that it had only been one day.

As the sun started to near the horizon, Buffy pulled the cell phone from her pocket and flipped it open. She selected the one number in its address book and hit send, waiting as it rang again and again. She was about to give up hope of getting an update from Giles when he finally answered, out of breath. 

_"Buffy?"_

"The one and only. Everything okay?" 

_"Yes, quite, but I believe this bloody contraption may be the death of me. I seem to misplace it at every turn. It's as though I literally repel technology."_

"Don't worry Giles, your books will never turn on you." 

_"Not as if they're much use at this point, I'm afraid. My collection isn't as adequate as I'd believed it to be."_

"Well, unless they can find a way to disappear the assassins and make Quentin Travers forget that Faith ever existed, I don't think they'd be much help anyway," Buffy said, barely able to hide her disappointment. 

_"Rest assured, Willow and I are working around the clock to find a possible solution to this. She's practicing a spell that, if we are unable to change events, may buy us some time to hasten Faith's safe escape from Sunnydale."_

Buffy wandered to the doorway and looked across the hall and into the room Faith was in, watching as the brunette stretched and began to shadowbox. 

"We were kind of hoping to avoid that option," she said quietly. "If we keep out of their sight, the assassins will have to leave eventually. Maybe they'll think we already skipped town." 

_"Or more will come,"_ Giles said wearily. _"They won't give up until their job is done. The council has judged Faith and it will do all it can until her sentence is carried out. This is their primary response. If it does not work, they will move on to their second response."_

"You mean there's worse than search and destroy?" Buffy asked with disbelief. 

_"Buffy,"_ Giles began, _"I don't think you quite understand the assets the council has and what measures it will take to ensure that it has an active, malleable slayer at all times."_

"So this is just the opening act," Buffy replied, clenching her jaw tightly. This was getting worse with every hour that passed. "Got it. Faith and I will keep doing what we're doing while you and Willow keep doing what you're doing. If we can't figure out something within the next day or two, you may want to start checking on airfare to get us out of here." 

_"You'll be accompanying Faith?"_ Giles asked, surprised. 

Buffy let out a wry chuckle and turned so that she was looking back into her own room, her head rested against the doorway. "I'm already in up to my neck, Giles. Besides, she needs to know that we're here for her. That's not exactly the case if we send her off on her own." 

There was a short silence on the other end of the line before Giles replied, _"I suppose you're right. We'll keep going through the books for another day. If by tomorrow evening we haven't found any viable help, we'll look into finding a safe place for both you and Faith."_

"Thanks. Keep me updated. Wish me luck keeping Faith in the house tonight." 

_"Did she reveal where she went last night?"_

Buffy opened her mouth to speak and turned to look out into the hall again. She was surprised to find Faith resting up against the doorframe to her own room with her arms crossed over her chest; she'd obviously been listening in. Buffy closed her mouth and tried to come up with a way to cover her tracks but, after thinking upon it for a moment, decided to go with honesty. 

"She said she went to patrol but I think she's hiding something from me," Buffy said to Giles, her eyes locked on Faith's. Faith replied by narrowing her eyes and Buffy just shrugged in response. She wasn't going to tiptoe around the subject matter. Faith was hiding something. That much was apparent. "I'll talk to you soon." 

_"Good luck, dear."_

Buffy clicked the phone shut and crossed her arms over her chest mimicking Faith, the perfect image of defiance. 

"You still don't trust me," Faith stated simply. 

"Give me a reason to and I will," Buffy replied plainly. She took a few steps forward until she was just two feet away from Faith. "Tell me the truth; the whole truth." 

"And nothing but the truth, so help me God?" 

"You'll need more than his help if things go south and I find out you've been lying to me." 

The tension between them was palpable and Buffy could see Faith's jaw clenching. Faith obviously wanted to say or do something, but instead, all she did was take a couple of steps backward into the room. 

"So we gonna do this sparring thing or what? I'm getting antsy." 

Buffy wanted answers. She wanted to hash things out with Faith once and for all, but Faith obviously wasn't biting. Shaking her head with frustration, Buffy looked down at the floor and sighed. After a moment, she walked into the room after Faith and began stretching. 

Sometimes they communicated better when hitting each other anyhow. 

* * *

Two hours passed by and the sun had fully set in the sky. They'd been safe sparring since there were no lights on; the neighbors didn't even seem to take any notice in the big vacant house. Buffy was resting with her back against the wall, a thin sheen of sweat covering her body. She was still panting from their sparring and all she could think about was a nice cold shower. 

Not that kind of cold shower. She was just hot. Really. 

Faith was still pacing around the room, throwing the occasional punch at her shadow on the wall. Buffy watched her, exhausted, marveling at Faith's continued energy despite her injuries the day before. 

"How does your knee feel?" she asked. 

"Five by five," Faith answered, grunting with effort as she punched. "Arm's good too." 

"And your back?" 

Faith threw a few more punches and then kicked her leg high; had her shadow been a real opponent, it would have been headless. "Feels good." 

Buffy reached into the grocery bag and pulled out one of the last few bottles of juice. The responsible part of her was telling her to save their rations; they needed to bide their time until they moved to the next house tomorrow. Thirst won out though and she twisted off the cap and took a nice long drink, then grabbed another bottle and tossed it up to Faith. Faith opened it and took a quick sip but then put the cap back on and looked down at her hands as she held the bottle in them. She looked a bit apprehensive for a moment but then the confident mask was back in place and Faith looked down at Buffy. 

"Gonna save the rest of that for when I get back," she said and tossed the bottle back to Buffy. 

Buffy clumsily caught it but was still caught off guard by Faith. 

"Back from where?" Buffy asked slowly. 

Faith looked at her for a moment longer and replied, "Slaying," before walking calmly over to her bag. 

Buffy furrowed her brow and stared at Faith's back, trying to process what she'd just heard. "I'm sorry, I must be having a problem with my inner ear. I thought I just heard you say you were going slaying." 

"Your hearing's fine," Faith replied easily. "I'm antsy as fuck and now I'm all juiced up from sparring. Gonna go slay a baddie or two, get rid of some of this energy. I'll be on my best behavior, slayer's honor." 

She pulled off her shirt and Buffy gasped when she saw that Faith's back wasn't fine. In fact, it looked almost as bad as it had the night before. The bruise looked like it was a few days older but it was still there and looked sore as hell. Faith had to be lying when she'd said it felt fine, and if she was lying about that, Buffy wondered exactly how she was managing to walk without a limp, especially after two hours of pretty intense sparring. 

"Faith, your back looks like someone took a sledgehammer to it. I get that you're antsy but it's not safe out there and you're still hurt," Buffy tried rationally. 

Faith put a different t-shirt on over her head and pulled her hair out from under the back of it, still looking quite determined. "I'm not exactly handicapped here." 

"Maybe not physically." 

Okay, so rationality was quickly giving way to frustration. 

"Says the blonde," Faith mumbled under her breath. She tucked a knife through the back of her belt and turned around to face Buffy, a confident look on her face. "Listen, I ain't ever been able to sit still for long. My mom would tell ya the same thing if she was still alive, but she ain't so you're gonna have to take my word for it." She ignored the look that Buffy gave her – the one that clearly said ‘I'm not impressed' – and headed for the doorway. 

"Faith, wait," Buffy sighed out as she rubbed her forehead. 

Faith obviously wasn't listening though. She turned around and walked backwards the last few steps out the bedroom door. "Be back before sunrise. Don't wait up." 

"Faith!" 

The sound of Faith's quickly retreating footsteps down the stairs and out the back door let Buffy know that Faith obviously wasn't listening to reason. Buffy sighed and banged her palms hard against the carpeted floor. She took in a deep breath through her nose and sighed loudly. 

If that was the game Faith was playing, well . . . Buffy would just have to beat her at it. 

Quickly hopping to her feet, Buffy ran over to Faith's bag and grabbed a dagger and a stake from it and then quickly followed Faith down the stairs and out the back door. She only hoped she could catch up with her before Faith got too far. 

She wandered through the back yard, blowing the hair that had fallen out of her ponytail away from her face. Counting on their slayer bond to lead her in the direction that Faith had gone in, she focused on the intense tingles running down her spine and kept going in the direction that made them the strongest. She got to a yard a few houses away and she stopped, looking around through the darkness. 

There was an in-ground pool off to her side and, after admiring how beautiful it was and noting how deprived she felt for not having her own pool, she turned her back to it and looked further out into the night. She sensed movement in the tree line and immediately moved to head toward it but the sound of water trickling gently caught her attention. She turned around slowly and almost screamed but a hand covered her mouth while she was grabbed tightly around the waist. 

"What ar-mpff you doi-mmmm," she mumbled against Faith's hand as Faith slowly walked them backwards down the steps and into the pool. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head at the feel of the cold water against her hot skin but she was focused more on hating Faith at that point. When they were finally at the furthest corner in the deep end, Faith braced Buffy against the wall and met her gaze. 

"Quiet!" she whispered harshly. 

Buffy tried to speak but Faith put her hand harder over her mouth and shot her a look that, for the first time in her life, actually managed to shut Buffy up. She tried to read Faith's face but Faith was busy staring out into the yard, the top of her head just barely peeking above the concrete surface. 

"Vamps," she finally whispered. "A whole fuckin' mess of them. The mayor's boys. Looking for me, I'd bet." 

Buffy wanted to say something but Faith was too busy staring out into the yard. Suddenly Faith's eyes widened and she looked at Buffy, terror written across her face. 

"Big breath, now!" she ordered. 

Buffy barely had time to comply and suddenly they were under the water and slowly sinking until they were just a couple of feet below the surface. They stared at one another, barely able to see without any illumination around them. Only the stars provided any light but even then, it was extremely dark. 

A shadow passing above them caught their attention and they looked up at the same time, watching as a group of vamps walked around the pool. One seemed to be looking below the surface so Faith wrapped one arm around Buffy's back and slowly pushed off the step, sending them down even lower where the moonlight was certain not to reach them. 

Buffy closed her eyes tightly as the seconds ticked by, the burn in her chest beginning to feel more and more intense. She couldn't stay down there much longer; she needed air. When she finally couldn't take it any more, she opened her eyes and put her hands on Faith's shoulders, ready to push off of them. Faith held her tighter though and indicated the vampires still lingering above them. 

That was when Buffy began to panic. She shook her head and pointed to the surface, then tried to push off of Faith again but Faith wouldn't budge. Buffy knew she couldn't get enough momentum in the water to punch Faith hard but she wound back anyway and prepared to deliver a blow. The blow Faith delivered was bigger though . . . and much more literal. Faith's lips covered Buffy's and she blew her remaining air into Buffy's mouth. 

A few tiny bubbles escaped and slowly bobbed to the surface but it appeared that they went unnoticed. The vamps slowly began to disperse from around the pool, leaving Buffy and Faith wondering just how far they'd gone. Faith gave Buffy the one-minute hand gesture and looked her dead in the eye before rising to the surface to check out the situation. Buffy watched anxiously and, when Faith waved her up, she eagerly rose to the surface and took a much needed breath of air. 

The vampires were already far across the yard and heading toward the house that they'd been hiding in, having noticed the back door that Buffy had left ajar. 

Faith shot Buffy an angry glare and Buffy shrank back down into the water up to her nose, knowing that she'd really screwed up this time. The vamps disappeared inside, not needing an invitation since there was no longer anyone living in the house. 

"Just fucking perfect," Faith whispered harshly. "They're gonna find all of our shit in there and the mayor's gonna know I'm runnin'!" 

"At least he won't know where you're running to," Buffy said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the soggy list of addresses. 

"Doesn't matter," Faith replied, shaking her head angrily. "All the rest of my shit was in there. I have absolutely _nothing_ left. Why the hell couldn't you just have let me walk out that door alone!" 

"Because I care about you, you asshole!" Buffy whispered back just as harshly. She put her hands on Faith's head and pushed her under the water and when Faith surfaced a moment later, she spluttered loudly and gave Buffy the meanest glare Buffy had ever seen. 

"Did you ever think that maybe I fuckin' care about you too, B?" Faith said and pushed Buffy back so that she was against the wall of the pool again. "Have you taken a fuckin' second to notice that my life has turned to complete shit since I killed Allen Finch?" 

"That was an accident!" Buffy argued. 

"Doesn't fuckin' matter now, does it," Faith said. "There are two different groups of people out there right now hunting me down like a fucking _dog_. The assassins are gonna kill me if they find me and the mayor is gonna kill me if I don't prove my loyalty and take that guy out. I'm fuckin' damned if I don't and damned if I do, and I'll be damned for sure if I take you down with me." 

Buffy's face went from anger to confusion really quickly. Her brow furrowed, she asked, "What guy, Faith?" 

"What?" Faith asked angrily, her brow furrowing too. 

"What guy?" Buffy asked again, putting more emphasis on the words. "You said the mayor wants you to take out some guy." 

She waited as a look of realization crossed over Faith's face. Faith swam to the side and rested her forehead against the concrete ledge of the pool, banging it slightly against it. 

"Fuck," she said, silently chastising herself. 

Buffy held onto the ledge with one hand and pushed on Faith's shoulder with the other, making Faith face her. 

"Whatever it is you're hiding, just stop. This ends now. Tell me what the hell is going on," Buffy said, her voice surprisingly gentle. 

Faith smiled wryly and shook her head in despair. She looked like she was at the end of her rope and about to plummet. 

"I lied to you," Faith finally admitted. "When I was getting stuff at my apartment, the phone rang. Don't know why but I answered it. Mayor was snooping around, he knew something was up. Told him I was still his girl; thought it would buy me some time. It did, but not for long; he asked me to do an errand for him. I don't do it, he knows I ain't his girl anymore and he releases the hounds or worse." 

Buffy stared at her in horror. 

God, everything was so, so much worse than she thought! 

"You're not a killer, Faith. You're better than that." 

"Am I?" Faith asked, her voice wavering a little. Her eyes were shining but Buffy couldn't tell if it was tears or water from the dunk a minute before. "Am I really, Buffy?" 

Buffy couldn't answer. She knew the truth; Faith was better than that. Her mind was aflutter with Faith's revelation though and she knew that they would never make it by hiding out there any longer. They needed to get out of Sunnydale. 

They needed to get out of Sunnydale now. 

"We need to leave," Buffy said, nodding her head with conviction. "Tonight. I'll call Giles . . ." 

"With what?" Faith asked miserably. 

Suddenly Buffy felt Faith's hand in her pocket and the quick tug that followed. Faith produced the completely waterlogged cell phone from it and held it above the water. 

"With what, B?" Faith asked again. 

"Shit," Buffy whispered. She racked her brain and tried to devise a plan. If they could find a place to hide for the night to keep away from the vampires searching for Faith, she could find a payphone in the morning and call Giles at the library. It wasn't a perfect plan but it could work. "We'll go to another house tonight. Once it's light out, I'll find a phone and call Giles, tell him we need to get out of here, now." 

"It ain't gonna work," Faith replied, shaking her head. 

The only thing she had left was hope. She wouldn't let that be taken away from her too. 

"It has to. Come on." 

She grabbed Faith's hand and pulled her along to the shallow end of the pool and, after checking that the coast was clear, dragged her across the yard and into the cover of the trees.


	14. Fourteen

Buffy and Faith made their way to a much less affluent neighborhood just a mile or two away. They were sure to stay as hidden as possible as they moved through the darkness, both girls wary of every shadow and every car that passed by. When they reached the next house on the list they peeked into one of the back windows, checking for any signs of life.

"There's still some boxes and shit in there," Faith whispered. Her teeth chattered together as she shivered, her wet clothing and the cool night air doing nothing to help warm her up. "You sure no one's in there?" 

Buffy noticed the same thing Faith had and began to wonder how credible Giles' friend was in giving him that list. What if she and Faith went inside and came face to face with a homeowner with a loaded shotgun? That was just as dangerous as dealing with the assassins! 

"I have no idea," Buffy finally breathed out. She was shivering as well and her breath came out in a small white puff. "Giles said all of the houses are vacant." 

"You trust him with your life?" Faith asked. 

Buffy looked over and met her gaze and, after a moment, nodded. 

"Good, then let's get inside before we freeze to death." 

Faith tiptoed over to the door and tried the handle. Neither she nor Buffy were surprised when they found it locked. There was no lock box on this door and no conveniently placed dog door. They were going to have to get creative this time. 

"Stand back, I'm gonna kick it in," Faith said, already in stance. 

Buffy merely rolled her eyes and nudged Faith over a few inches. When Faith stepped off the welcome mat, Buffy bent down and lifted it up to reveal a dull key lying beneath it. She picked it up and held it up for Faith to see. 

"It's the most common hiding spot ever," Buffy explained. "Plus, it's quieter than kicking the door in and alerting the neighbors." 

"Well hurry up and use it, I'm turnin' into a Popsicle here." 

Eager to get in and warm up, Buffy slipped the key in the lock and smiled when the door soundlessly slid open. She peeked inside and glanced around, noting that there was no actual furniture or signs that anyone was living there; just a few boxes and some cleaning supplies. 

"You hear anything?" Faith asked. 

"Just your teeth chattering," Buffy replied. "I think we're alone. Come on, let's see what we can scavenge from these boxes." 

They walked into the house and carefully closed the door, making sure to leave nothing left out of sorts behind them. There was no electricity which was fine because they couldn't really turn the lights on anyhow, but it also meant that there was no hot water for showers. It wasn't like they needed to wash; they just needed to warm up! 

Buffy found a box of cereal in one of the otherwise empty cupboards and after making sure that it hadn't passed its expiration date, she and Faith began to eat handfuls of it as they rummaged through the boxes. 

"Find anything useful?" Faith asked. 

"A few towels, not that we really need them with the lack of hot water. Might work as blankets." 

"I got one fleece blanket here. Some pillowcases. Nothin' in the way of weapons. Box full of porn." 

"Hopefully we won't need any," Buffy replied quietly. 

"Porn?" Faith asked, confused. 

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Weapons. Giles should be able to get us out of here tomorrow. All we need to do is bide our time until he tells us where to pick up our tickets. The assassins won't try anything in broad daylight." 

"So you keep saying," Faith replied. She was silent for a few moments and then shook her head sadly. "Never shoulda come to Sunnydale. Brought nothin' but shit down on myself and everyone around me since I got here. At least in Boston I was used to the shit, yunno? Here I was thinkin' that Cali would be my second chance. Yeah right." 

She pretended to keep busy rummaging through a box but Buffy could tell that she was just trying to keep herself together. Walking over to her with a few towels rolled up under one of her arms, Buffy hesitated for a second before resting her free hand on Faith's bicep. Faith looked over and Buffy offered her a small smile. 

"Life isn't always pretty. I'm glad you came here though. And I'm glad that I'm getting this second time around with you. There were," she took a deep breath and shook her head, "there were mistakes on both our parts. We can't change the past. And even though the situation right now is . . ." 

"Shitty?" Faith offered and Buffy nodded. 

"Yeah. Even though it's shitty, we're gonna make it through, and when we do? I'd really like to get a chance to know you, Faith. The right way." 

Faith stared at her for what felt like forever but finally shook her head and looked back into the box in front of her. " _If_ I make it." 

"You will," Buffy said with a nod even though Faith wasn't looking at her. "We both will." 

Faith didn't say anything but merely nodded unconvincingly. Buffy watched her for a few more seconds before finally deciding to give her a bit of space. She took the fleece blanket that Faith had stashed on the stairs and slowly began to climb them. 

"I'm gonna go and see where we can rest for the night." 

"See ya in a few," Faith replied blankly. 

Worried about Faith's mental state but not wanting to start a fight over it, Buffy went upstairs and scouted the bedrooms out. There were two small rooms at the front that faced the wind and seemed cooler than the last bedroom at the back of the house. Buffy chose the third room and walked in, eager to get out of her wet clothing. She laid the towels down on the plush carpeting side by side and laid the fleece blanket atop them. Like it or not, she and Faith were going to have to sleep under the same blanket seeing as that there was only one there. 

Once everything was all situated, she stuck her head out into the hall and made sure Faith wasn't coming up yet. When she was sure the coast was clear, she quickly pulled off her shoes, top and jeans and hung them over the empty pole in the closet. Even though her bra and panties were cold and wet, she kept them on; she couldn't be naked under the blankets with Faith. That would just be all kinds of awkward. 

Hearing the unmistakable sound of wet shoes squishing up the carpeted steps, Buffy quickly stepped toward their makeshift bed and dove under the fleece blanket. She was still situating herself when Faith appeared in the doorway and stopped, looking into the darkened bedroom. Faith's eyes scanned over to the closet where Buffy's wet clothes were hanging then over to Buffy who was now hidden away under the blankets from her neck down. 

"Uh, I'm gonna," she hiked her thumb up over her shoulder but seemed to forget what she was about to say. "I, uh . . . maybe I should take one of the other rooms." 

"You can if you want," Buffy replied, a bit surprised. "But this room is the warmest of the three and I'm pulling rank and keeping the blanket in here. There's no reason why you can't stay in here too. It's just to sleep." 

Faith seemed to be thinking it over but eventually walked into the room without saying anything else. She kept her eyes locked on Buffy's as she began to undress, carelessly tossing her wet clothes over the bar in the closet without looking to see where they'd landed. Buffy couldn't seem to look away either and was busy mentally berating herself for being so suddenly obvious. 

Dressed in only a bra and her panties, Faith walked over to the makeshift bed and slipped under the blanket but kept a respectable distance from Buffy. Buffy immediately closed her eyes like she was going to sleep but she could still hear the soft sigh Faith let out as the blanket began to warm her cold skin. 

"I could use like eleven more of these blankets on me right now," Faith said, her teeth still chattering. 

"You can get closer if you want to," Buffy offered. "To share body heat. It's what you're supposed to do when cold." 

Faith managed to chuckle quietly. "I'm good. Besides, contrary to what I said yesterday, I don't snuggle." 

"It isn't snuggling if you're doing it to live," Buffy defended and looked over at Faith, then smiled at the look Faith gave her. "Then again, we're not exactly in the north pole. I'm sure we'll be just fine." 

"Exactly." 

They lay in silence for a long time, neither girl quite able to find the peace they needed to sleep. Faith was wide awake and staring up at the ceiling, or at least she was every time Buffy stole a sidelong glance over at her. Their shivering had stopped quite a while ago but they still lay there under the blanket together, unmoving. 

"I'm not gonna make it through this," Faith said quietly, breaking the silence for the first time since they'd laid down. 

"Yes you will," Buffy said, turning her head sideways so that she could look over at Faith. 

She studied the girl's face and noticed for the first time a sense of defeat. Her confidence long gone, Faith just looked tired and young, and so, so scared. 

"No, I won't," Faith breathed. She turned her head and looked over at Buffy, sadness in her eyes. "Doesn't matter if I get outta Sunnydale. They have magic on their side, B. They're always gonna look for me, and one day, they're gonna find me." 

"Then we'll take them down together," Buffy replied. She reached over and grabbed Faith's hand, interlacing their fingers together and giving it a reassuring squeeze. 

"I can't run forever. I ran from Boston to California and I still couldn't outrun my bad luck. Same thing's gonna happen again." 

"It won't. I'm here with you now." 

"How does that change anything?" Faith asked suddenly. She let go of Buffy's hand and turned on her side to face her, bringing them that much closer together. "That just puts you in as much danger as I'm in and I can't have that." Her breath caught in her throat and she swallowed loudly, then sadly shook her head. "You can't go with me, Buffy." 

"You don't really have any say in what I do or don't do," Buffy said, finding her confidence. "I won't stand idly by this time. That's what happened last time and . . . I can't let that happen again." 

"Because you feel guilty," Faith said rather than asked. 

"Because I care about you," Buffy replied immediately, leaving no room to doubt her. 

Faith moved so fast that Buffy couldn't stop her. She was suddenly right next to Buffy and hovering partially atop her, her hands braced on the floor next to either of Buffy's arms keeping her pinned there. She looked so intensely into her eyes that it took Buffy's breath away, along with any thoughts she'd had of pushing her off. 

"You shouldn't," Faith breathed. Her skin was surprisingly warm already and Buffy's hands automatically found her sides, though whether it was to share her warmth or to push her away, Buffy wasn't exactly sure. "We only ever hurt each other." 

"It doesn't have to be that way," Buffy said. Her palms rubbed against the smooth skin of Faith's sides to her lower back and then back to her sides. She had no control of her hands, it seemed; they were working independent of her brain that was screaming at her to realize the situation they were in; how dangerously close they were to finally doing what their bodies had always tried to do but their brains had always stopped. 

Buffy couldn't think though; she could barely breathe with how intensely Faith was looking at her. Faith lowered herself down just a little and Buffy could feel her leg between hers, their skin just barely brushing together now. 

"Then how can we be, Buffy?" Faith whispered. "How can I make all this better? Do I wave a magic wand around and fix it? Tell me. Just tell me and I'll do it. How do I save my life?" 

"You don't," Buffy whispered, her hands sliding to Faith's arms and up them until she was cupping her face. "I do." 

And for some reason she couldn't explain or even begin to work out in her own mind, she pulled Faith down until their lips were touching, tentatively at first as they were both surprised by her action, but then more assured as the seconds ticked by. She could feel Faith's breath warm against her face and she sighed when she felt Faith's tongue gently caress hers for this first time. 

This was different from the kiss they'd shared in her bathroom just a few nights before. This wasn't mean or harsh or full of months of anger and hate; this was filled with everything else that had been buried beneath all of that. 

This was an apology. 

This was a promise. 

And it was a promise that they were both enthusiastically making as Faith rested her weight down on Buffy, their tongues dueling as hands began to caress and explore. The fleece blanket was suddenly much too warm and Faith pushed it down behind her so that it rested at her waist. 

Buffy sighed into Faith's mouth as Faith's hand began to explore up her side, not yet bold enough to rest over her breast but her thumb taking a quick detour on the damp material of Buffy's bra on its way up to her shoulder. Buffy's own hands were becoming bolder with every minute that passed. As Faith's lips left Buffy's and started to kiss and suck over her jaw and neck, her hands wandered down Faith's chest and over her sides. Her fingernails scraped gently up Faith's back and Faith shivered, pressing her thigh a little more fully against Buffy's center. 

Buffy bit back a moan and tried to focus on something else that would keep her from babbling like a moron. When her fingertips tripped over Faith's bra clasp, she figured that was as good a spot to focus as any. She'd never taken off a bra from this angle – and not off of another person – but she managed to slip the clasp open without any trouble whatsoever. 

While she took a moment to be proud at her bedroom prowess, Faith suddenly stopped kissing her neck and froze, completely unmoving. Buffy wasn't sure what was wrong but as she felt a series of hard, warm breaths against her skin, she knew that Faith was taking a moment of her own. 

And it wasn't a moment to feel proud; it was a moment, apparently, to come to her senses. 

"What the hell are we doing?" Faith mumbled against her skin but couldn't seem to move away. 

"I don't know," Buffy admitted. Her hands found Faith's face and she pulled her up so that she could look into her eyes. She didn't expect what she saw there: sadness. Confusion. 

Regret. 

"We can't do this, B," Faith said, shaking her head. "I can't let you . . . this can't happen." 

Without waiting for Buffy to reply, Faith rolled off of her and as far away as she could possibly get without actually leaving the cover of the blanket. She pulled the blanket up so that it was covering her chest and stared at the ceiling once again, still breathing hard from their unexpected detour into R-rated territory. 

Buffy lay there speechless, her lips still tingling from Faith's kiss. She glanced over at the girl who looked completely distraught and wanted nothing more than to make things okay for her for once in her life, but she couldn't. All she could do was prove to her that she wanted to help and that she would see her through this. That she wouldn't just sit back and watch anymore. 

Taking a chance, she reached out between them and found Faith's hand atop the blanket. She tried to take it in hers but Faith quickly pulled away as if she'd been scorched. Faith glanced over at her, eyes full of apology. 

"Sorry. It's . . . I'm all fucked up here. Let's just . . . go to sleep, okay? We'll figure it out in the mornin'." 

Buffy nodded and looked down at the space between them when Faith reached out and took her hand, giving it a quick squeeze. It didn't linger though and soon Faith let go and turned on her side with her back facing toward her. Buffy stared at her back, hoping beyond hope that Faith would turn around and that they could work through . . . whatever it was that had just happened. 

Faith never did turn around though. Buffy heard her breathing become steady and slow, a good indication that she'd fallen asleep. She had no idea how Faith could sleep at a time like this, especially after what had just happened between them, but she eventually settled down and tried to follow suit. 

If they made it through this alive, they sure were going to have a lot to talk about. 

* * *

Faith lay completely rigid and unmoving, trying to keep her breathing as steady as she had for the past hour. It was hard pretending to sleep, especially when she knew Buffy was watching her, but Buffy eventually fell asleep as well, giving Faith the opportunity she'd been waiting for since she'd been downstairs alone. 

She hadn't gone upstairs with intent to sleep; she'd gone upstairs to say goodbye. Her first instinct had been to just leave quietly while Buffy had been upstairs but she couldn't do that; not when Buffy had stuck out her neck for her. She had to leave though; no way was she going to let Buffy follow her to hell and back. She was gonna get outta dodge and as far as possible from Buffy and the people she cared about. At least that way she knew they'd all be safe when the storm landed on her head. None of them were safe while she was still around. 

She wasn't going to make a big deal out of it; she was just going to apologize and leave. But when she'd seen Buffy laying there all quiet and almost naked and nice and, well, almost naked, she couldn't help herself. Her feet led her into the room even while her brain was shouting at her to stop. 

And well, the kissing had been . . . a complete surprise. Sure she'd gotten close to Buffy, but Buffy had initiated the kiss! She couldn't even wrap her mind around that. Two days ago there was anger and hate and now? Buffy was laying two feet away in just her underwear. 

This was getting even more out of control by the minute and she had a sneaking suspicion that after what had happened between them an hour before, there was no way Buffy would just let her leave now. 

And that's why she'd stopped kissing Buffy. And that's why she'd been pretending to sleep for the past hour. 

And that was why she was about to sneak out in the middle of the night like a coward. 

She needed to take care of things once and for all, consequences be damned, or none of the badness would ever stop. Living life terrified and on the run was not a life at all. 

She had two enemies after her now; it was time to deal with at least one of them. 

Slowly rolling onto her back, she looked over at Buffy who was on her side and facing her. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she moved to stand up but then rethought it. She rested down on her elbow and used her free hand to push a few strands of hair from Buffy's face, her fingertips lingering for a couple moments. She wished it didn't have to be this way, but she didn't have any other options. 

"I'm sorry, B," she whispered. 

After staring at her for just a second longer, she stood up from the floor and made her way to the closet. She grabbed her clothes and went out to the hallway to get dressed, not wanting Buffy to wake up. Once dressed, she looked down at the knife in her hand and sighed as she tucked it securely behind her back through her belt. 

Buffy had been wrong; Faith was a killer. She just couldn't escape it. 

And now it was her only way out.


	15. Fifteen

Buffy rolled onto her back and pulled the blanket up tighter around her neck. Usually she would have fallen right back to sleep but her head was resting awkwardly on a rolled up towel and she was uncomfortable, not to mention cold. Where were her Yummy Sushi pajamas when she really needed them?

Used to sleeping alone, she realized that she'd pulled the blanket around her like a cocoon and that she'd probably left Faith shivering and exposed to the night air. Keeping her eyes closed so she could keep dozing, she fluffed the blanket over to where Faith was laying. It didn't seem to land on anyone though. She reached out her hand to feel for Faith and when all she came into contact with was air, her eyes immediately shot open. 

"Faith?" she said aloud, her brow furrowed as she tried to wake herself more. When a few moments passed and there was no reply, she tried again, louder. "Faith?" 

The house wasn't that big; even if Faith was in the bathroom with the door closed, she still should have heard her. 

Buffy sat up and rubbed her eyes with her palms, trying to clear the sleep from them. When she looked around the room and let her eyes focus, she immediately spotted a bad sign: Faith's clothes were gone. 

Faith's clothes were gone and there was a note stuck to the door with what looked like a piece of gum. 

She hopped up from the floor and ran over, easily pulling the note down and leaving the sticky blob of gum behind. The writing was hard to make out in the dark so she ran over to the window, hoping the moonlight would be enough. She held the note tight in her hands as she read over it. 

_I wish I could close my eyes for a second and make all of this go away, but every time I open them everything is still all fucked up and I wanna scream until my throat bleeds. I've gotta do what I gotta do to make it through this, and that's gonna mean doing something bad. It's either that or I have to say goodbye to the world and I ain't ready for that yet. It's been quite a ride, B. Maybe we can't pretend the picture is perfect, but thanks for tryin' for me. Sorry._

Buffy's eyes widened as she read until finally she crumbled the paper up in her palm and stared out the window, jaw clenched and eyes filling with angry tears. Not only had Faith ducked out on her in the middle of the night but it sure sounded like she was about to do something really stupid too. Monumentally stupid. 

And in doing so, she was going to fulfill what Buffy had seen in the vision. 

Shaking her head angrily, Buffy made her way over to the closet and began to dress in her still damp clothes. Yes she was angry and yes she was going to severely injure Faith if – no, when – she found her, but more than that, she was just scared. Faith had two enemies after her right now and Buffy knew that Faith believed she could outlast the assassins at least for the time being. That meant that she was going to take care of the other enemy. 

She was going to prove to the mayor that she was still his girl, even if it was just to buy her some time to get out of town alive. 

Running down the steps and out of the house, Buffy ran through the darkened streets until she came upon a liquor store a few blocks away. It was closed but there was a pay phone outside. Realizing that she had absolutely no money on her, she reared back and punched the money bank at the bottom of the phone unit, causing a waterfall of coins to come spilling down around her feet. She picked up a quarter and put it in the slot . . . then completely froze. 

She couldn't call Giles' house! What if the assassins had tapped his phone lines? They'd know exactly what was going on! Closing her eyes, she thought hard and scoured her memory banks, trying to remember the number that had been programmed into the cell phone. There were numbers, definitely seven of them, and she was pretty sure there was a five and a one. A three as well; of that she was positive. 

Sighing, she slammed the handle on the heavy phone unit hard enough to crack but not destroy it. She couldn't remember the number. Trying not to get too discouraged, she decided to take her chances and dialed the number for the school library. She nearly cried with relief when someone actually answered. 

"Giles?" 

_"Buffy? I've been trying to ring you for hours. What happened to your phone?"_

"We left the house we were staying at and ran into more of the mayor's vamps than we could handle. Faith and I survived our dunk in the pool but the phone did not." 

_"But the both of you are okay?"_

Buffy sighed. "We were. We went to another house on the list but when I woke up Faith was gone. She's gonna run, Giles, but not before she takes care of something else." 

_"And I suppose it's the something else that you're worried about."_

"You have no idea," Buffy replied sadly. "When we were hiding she confessed that the mayor had been in contact with her. He figured something was up and asked her to kill someone for him; a test of her loyalty." 

_"Good lord,"_ Giles said alarmingly. 

"She's playing right into the vision I saw. If she goes to find that guy, the assassins are going to find her and kill her." She rubbed her forehead and then banged her palm on the phone in her frustration, causing even more coins to spill out the front. "How am I supposed to find her now?" 

_"I believe I may be able to provide some insight to that,"_ Giles replied. _"Someone broke into my office and used my computer. In their haste to leave, they turned the monitor off but left the computer running. Now it may be a coincidence that Faith left you for a few hours last night, I'll admit, but I believe that perhaps she was doing some research of her own."_

"How can you be sure?" 

_"I can't, I'm afraid. But now that you've made me aware of her contact with the mayor and his request, I think that my suspicions may be correct. There was a search engine running and one Professor Lester Worth was the inquiry made."_

"Is he local? Do you think it's him?" 

_"He is, and I believe he may fit the criteria of an assassination attempt by the mayor. Professor Worth made an archaeological discovery and unearthed what he believes a new species. If what he found could threaten the mayor's reputation or any plans he's making in any way, I certainly wouldn't doubt him as a candidate for elimination."_

"Then that's our only lead. Where can I find him?" Buffy asked, feeling an ounce of hope that the situation could still be stopped. Giles' sigh brought her right back down to earth though. 

_"Buffy, if Faith has already decided to go after the professor then her fate is set. That is what the seers at the council observed and that is the vision that they shared with you."_

"If they shared it with me, maybe they want me to change it," Buffy said hopefully. "I can't just sit back and do nothing. Please Giles, just tell me where to find her." 

There was a long pause on the other end of the line and Buffy danced from foot to foot anxiously. She understood Giles' point but she couldn't wait all night long for a response. Time was not a luxury she had to waste. 

"Giles?" she asked again. 

_"Very well. He lives in an apartment building at 410 Newcastle Way, apartment 2B. Do you know where it is?"_

"Roughly. I'm heading there now." 

_"Wait! Before you go, I must insist that I see you first. Willow has been working night and day on a spell that may help. We'll meet you at the grocery market six blocks east of the apartment in fifteen minutes and show you what you'll need to do."_

Buffy looked around the neighborhood to gauge her location and focused on the street sign she saw about a hundred yards away. 

"I'll be there in ten. Don't be late or I'm going in." 

She hung up the phone and took off running down the darkened street, hoping beyond hope that it wasn't already too late. 

* * *

Giles hung up the phone and looked off to his side where Willow was standing, obviously having heard the entire conversation judging by the look on her face. She held a crystal orb in her hand that was swirling with various shades of colored smoke. 

"Do you think it could work?" he asked quietly. 

"I hope so," Willow replied weakly. "We need to move fast if we're going to make it there in time. Come on." 

Giles nodded and grabbed his suit jacket from the back of a chair before following Willow out of the library. 

Precision and planning was needed to pull it off and they had neither. 

It was going to take a miracle. 

* * *

Buffy stood in the alley beside the grocery store, looking and listening for signs of Giles and Willow. When she heard a car coming down the otherwise abandoned street, she looked out and saw Giles' Citroen pulling up. Willow eagerly jumped out of the vehicle before it was even parked and ran over to Buffy, hugging her tightly. 

"I'm so glad you waited for us," Willow said, her voice muffled by Buffy's shoulder. 

"And I'm glad you guys showed up," Buffy replied, meeting Giles' gaze as he approached them. "Now tell me what I have to do and tell it to me fast." 

"Before we go over the spell, there's something you should know first," Willow said, pulling back from the hug. She looked up at Giles who continued as Buffy waited expectantly. 

"We took a different route and drove past the apartment in question," Giles said. "While we didn't see Faith, Willow was able to detect several hostile presences using a protection spell." 

"The assassins?" Buffy asked. 

"Worse," Willow said. "The assassins and a whole bunch of vamps. They're all out of sight but they're definitely there." 

"They're probably waiting to see if she's going to go through with her task," Giles offered. 

"Shit," Buffy breathed and looked out into the night. After a moment she steeled herself and looked back at her friends. "Vamps I can handle. I still have my stake so I just have to fight smart. The assassins shouldn't gun for me unless I get in the way. If I can get to Faith before she gets in, we might still have a chance. If she's already in there . . ." 

"Even better," Willow said. She reached into her pocket and produced the small orb, handing it carefully to Buffy. 

"How does this thing work?" Buffy asked, looking at it curiously. 

Willow smiled nervously. "This is what you do . . ." 

* * *

Faith approached the front of the apartment building and looked up at it, taking note of every detail. Three stories, two apartments on each floor. Five other tenants that she would have to dodge on her way in and way out. Two cars parked in front and several more alongside the building. Neighboring buildings far enough away that she didn't have to worry about anyone hearing her. 

She shook her head and took a deep breath, her heart in her throat as she prepared herself for what she was about to do. Cracking her knuckles, she walked up the front steps and into the building, heading up to the address written on the paper that was still hidden away in her pocket. 

* * *

The three sisters lay prostrate on the hard ground of their hidden chamber, swirls of white smoke dancing around in the air above them. Euphemia groaned and her muscles went rigid as she began to receive a vision. Syntyche and Hypatia soon followed suit, laying with their backs curled and their limbs twitching. 

The cloud of white smoke took shape and a scene began to play out before them: Faith walking into the apartment building and approaching the door that read 2B; her hesitation showing before she knocked quietly; the professor opening the door and greeting her friendlily. 

"It has begun," Hypatia croaked. 

* * *

The tallest of the assassins snickered under the shroud of darkness of a large willow tree, the other two assassins flanking him on either side. He popped another sunflower seed into his mouth and crunched it loudly as he watched Faith enter the apartment building across the street, completely unaware of their presence. 

"Now we let her get acquainted with the good ol' professor and then we do our job." 

"Shouldn't we take care of her now before the old guy gets hurt?" one of the other men asked. 

"Nah. Saving the geezer isn't a part of the job description. If he gives us trouble, we dispose of him too. He's of no consequence to us." 

Seemingly appeased, they continued to stare at the building and looked up at the second floor as a light went on in a front room. The assassin in the middle went to pop another seed into his mouth but completely missed and hit one of the others on the head when he saw a blonde girl go running past and up into the same building just a few minutes later. 

"Bloody hell. It's the other one," he grumbled. He opened his cell phone and dialed a number, then spoke when someone answered. "Yeah, we're here. The blonde showed up. You want us to . . .? Right, will do." He clicked the phone shut and crossed his arms over his chest, watching the building as his companions stared at him. "Nothing's changed. We give it a few minutes and then we go in. The cheerleader gets in the way, we take her out too." 

* * *

Buffy charged up the stairs and to the second floor of the building. She immediately found the door marked 2B and instead of knocking politely, she turned the knob and banged her shoulder into the door, sending it – and her – flying inside. She braced herself, expecting to see a gory mess or catch Faith in the act. 

Instead she found Faith sitting on the couch with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, the professor sitting next to her and offering her a glass of water. Both the professor and Faith looked up at the intrusion and Buffy sighed with relief to find them both alive. 

"Oh thank god," she said to herself. She closed the door behind her and walked into the room as Faith stared at her, looking confused and exhausted. 

"What're ya doin' here?" Faith asked. She looked completely miserable and the professor actually had his hand on her back, trying to comfort her. 

Buffy looked at the coffee table in front of them and saw Faith's knife resting there. It was sitting closer to the professor, a sure sign that he'd taken it from Faith and put it out of her reach. 

"I should be asking you the same thing," Buffy said evenly. 

Faith shrugged. "Figured that with the mayor off my back I could ditch the dicks with the guns and get outta here. Guess I figured wrong." 

"This?" Buffy indicated the space around them. "This is the vision I had. You walked _right_ into this, Faith! You're making it happen!" 

"I didn't have a choice," Faith said miserably, looking back down at her lap. The professor tried once again to offer her the water and she took it this time, sipping from the clear glass. 

"You still don't," Buffy replied after a moment, instantly making the professor and Faith look up at her concerned. She took the knife from the table and set the orb down, then looked apologetically at the professor. "I'm so sorry that you're caught up in this mess." 

"No one has to get hurt here," he tried to bargain, holding his hands up to show that he was unarmed. 

Faith jumped up from her seat and took a step away from Buffy. "B, I can't!" 

Buffy stepped closer and held out the knife with its handle toward Faith. "It's too late to run right now. You have something you need to do." 

* * *

The assassins watched from below as a few shadows crossed in front of the windows. They briefly considered storming in but when Buffy exited the building with a swollen eye and blood dribbling from the corner of their mouth, they were happy that they'd bided their time. If the blonde had gone inside to stop their target, it was obvious that she'd failed and was walking away to lick her wounds. 

They waited until she'd limped most of the way down the street before leaving the cover of the shadows and walking out into the night. Looking back up at the apartment, they removed their guns from their holsters and began to walk up to the front door. There was no discernible noise in the building though they could hear footsteps above them. The closer they got to the apartment, they could hear people talking; a man begging and a woman telling him to shut up. 

That was their cue. 

All three men lined up outside door 2B and screwed the silencers onto their weapons. They waited until they were all ready and then counted to three before charging into the small apartment. They surprised Faith whose knife had just slid across Lester Worth's neck, leaving a deep gash in its wake. Before Faith could even step away from his slumping body, all three assassins took their shot, aiming directly at her chest. 

She hit the floor just a second after the professor. 

Her hands immediately clasped at her chest, trying to stop the blood flow, but there were more wounds than she had hands. Within moments her eyes widened and her head fell to the side, a small trickle of blood pooling on the carpet from her mouth. 

The assassins waited with their guns raised until she was completely still, all signs of life having disappeared with her last breath of air. Her eyes remained opened as they checked her for a pulse, which of course they weren't able to find. Without much more ado, they stepped out into the hall and left the crime scene behind, the front door wedged wide open. 

* * *

The apartment was completely silent until, just a few minutes after the assassins left, muted footsteps sounded up the stairs and in the hall. A few vampires stood at the doorway, their eyes glowing yellow as they took in the scene before them. They knew already that the professor was dead judging by their ability to enter their apartment without an invite. 

Two of the vamps walked into the apartment and approached Faith, looking down at her with disgust. 

"Guess the boss' pet isn't number one anymore," one of them said. The other vamp laughed and, after making sure there were no signs that they'd been there, they walked out, ready to deliver the news to the mayor. 

Back inside, the orb lay on the coffee table, the smoke still swirling and completely unchanged from when Buffy had put it there.


	16. Sixteen

Buffy walked slowly up the steps of the apartment building, having sneaked back in once the coast was clear of the assassins and vamps. She still wasn't sure if the plan had worked or not; judging by the fact that both the vamps and assassins had left, either the plan was a great success or a terrible, terrible failure. Walking in the back door, she listened for any signs of nosy neighbors or distress throughout the building. Satisfied that no one was wandering about, she crept up the stairs and down the hall to apartment 2B.

The door was wide open and when she looked inside, she grimaced at the carnage that lay before her on the living room floor. There was blood everywhere and she could barely keep the bile from rising up her throat. A wave of panic suddenly washed over her and she ran into the room, falling to her knees at Faith's side. 

"Faith!" 

She was afraid to find out but she reached over anyway and tried to feel for a pulse. 

Her hand went right through Faith's form. 

She waved her hand through the bodies one more time and then looked up when she heard a door creak open. When she saw Faith peek out of the closet door, she sighed with relief and got back to her feet, feeling as though she might pass out from sheer giddiness. 

The plan had worked! Faith was still alive! 

Willow was going to get such a good birthday present that year! 

"Jesus Christ," Faith said as she walked out of the closet, the confused and frightened professor walking out slowly after her. "It looks like a fuckin' slaughterhouse in here." 

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. This scene has been playing on repeat in my mind for days." 

"Sorry for ya," Faith said blankly as she stared at the gory scene. As she got closer, she noticed that Buffy was bruised and swollen and her eyes widened with concern. "Shit, did they catch ya on the way out?" 

Buffy brought her hand up to the cut she knew was on her lip and smiled as she looked over at Faith. "It's just a little bit of magic." 

_*****Flashback*****_

"It's too late to run right now. You have something you need to do." 

"I don't need to do anything." Faith bit back angrily. 

"If you want to make it through the next five minutes, you're going to do exactly what I say exactly when I say it," Buffy said evenly, then looked over at the now terrified man. "Professor Worth, you too. We're not going to hurt you but if you don't do exactly as I say, someone else will. Do you have the lease to your apartment?" 

"It's in my desk," he replied, his voice shaking. 

"Good. Go destroy it, now. When you're done, take the keys to your apartment and toss them out the window." 

"Why?" he asked as he began moving toward his desk with his hands up in the air still. 

"Because the bad guys can't get in here without an invite, but if no one legally lives here, they can get in." 

"We want them in here why exactly?" Faith asked, her brow furrowed with confusion. 

"You ever been to a magic show, Faith?" 

"You wanna get to the point, B?" 

"Sleight of hand. We're going to make them think that they've killed you. If you're dead, the council will back off, the mayor will back off, and we can get you out of Sunnydale nice and easy." 

"In case you haven't noticed, I ain't exactly David Copperfield here. How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Faith asked. 

Buffy smiled and looked down at the orb on the coffee table. She picked it up and held it out for Faith to see. "Some nice home-grown magic. Having a best friend who's a witch is really starting to come in handy." 

The professor came running back into the apartment and stood at Buffy's side. He looked at the orb and reached out to touch it but quickly pulled his hand back when Buffy yanked it away. 

"No one can touch it but me or the magic won't work. Here's what happens: the orb is going to take the vision from my head and project it in the room. Sight, sound, smell, noise – it'll all be the same as what I saw. The assassins are already waiting outside . . ." 

"Assassins?" Professor Worth asked nervously. 

". . . and vampires," Buffy continued, giving him a look, "so there's no way we can get you out until they're sure the both of you are dead. They'll come inside once they see me leave." 

"And what the hell are we supposed to do, hide in the closet?" Faith asked. She looked both dubious and hopeful at the same time, something that made Buffy crack a smile. 

"Actually, yes." 

Faith seemed to think it over for a moment. She looked miserable still, Buffy couldn't deny that, but there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes now. She didn't want to kill Professor Worth or anyone else; she just wanted this to end and Buffy was going to do everything in her power to see that it did. 

"How do you know they won't hurt you?" Faith suddenly asked, staring into Buffy's green eyes. Buffy smiled. 

"Because they're going to think we fought and that I'm hurt and they'll be too focused on you to bother with me, so long as I'm not getting in their way. Now come on, we don't have much time." 

She walked over to the closed door in the side hallway and opened it up, taking a quick peek inside. It was safer than the bedrooms; no one exactly ransacked closets for their linens but bedrooms were another story. She stepped back and held the door open. 

"All aboard." She watched as the professor quickly ran in and then looked over to Faith who made her way over and lingered before stepped inside. 

"Just wanted to say thanks," Faith said, looking from her feet up to Buffy's face, "for not givin' up on me." 

"You can thank me after I knock your ass around for running out on me like that in the middle of the night." 

"Fair enough," Faith replied with a grin, then wiggled her eyebrows. "You get me out of this, you can do whatever the hell you want with my ass." 

"Still flirting in the face of death?" 

"Still letting me?" 

Smirking, Faith walked into the closet and turned around. As Buffy began to close the door she winked, but suddenly her hand shot out though and stopped the door closing all the way. Buffy looked at her and Faith was serious once again. 

"How do I know when it's over?" 

"When I come back for you," Buffy said easily. 

"Ya better," Faith replied, and then Buffy closed the door the rest of the way. 

She looked around the living room and took in a deep breath as she rolled the crystal orb around in her hands. Nodding to herself, she brought the orb up to her face and stared into it as it began to glow with bright vivid colors. The smoke inside it churned ominously and eventually began to settle down. Satisfied that the magic had done what it was supposed to, Buffy set the orb carefully down on the table where it was sure to be safe and made her way to the door. When she opened it up, she saw Faith on the other side, staring down at the knife in her hands with a distraught look upon her face. 

The magic was indeed working. 

She caught a glimpse of her own face in the mirror near the door and saw that the secondary spell Willow had created had also worked; it looked like she'd been in a regular knock-down drag-out fight. Touching her swollen eye but feeling nothing but smooth unmarred skin, she smiled a little at herself, then looked back at the girl still standing nervously in the hallway. 

She reached out and tried to touch Faith's face but her hand went right through the image. Taking a deep breath, Buffy walked through the illusion and out into the hall, only looking back for a brief moment. 

"Good luck, Faith," she whispered, then made her way down the stairs and out into the night. 

*****End Flashback***** 

Faith reached out and touched Buffy's face, surprised when she too felt smooth skin instead of the gross swelling and bruises. 

"You ain't gonna stay like that forever, are ya? Be a real shame if I come outta this the same and you get stuck looking like the Elephant Man." 

Buffy glared at her. "No. The spell will end when the immediate threat is gone, so pretty much when the assassins board their flight back to England. Once all of this disappears, we know it's safe to leave." 

"Leave to where?" 

"Wherever Giles can get us tickets to on such short notice. I told him nowhere cold. If we're hiding out, we're hiding out in style." 

"We? You still plannin' on comin' with?" 

"Yup. Until we're sure that the council has backed off, I'm stuck to you like glue. You might not be able to come back with me until we've dealt with the mayor, but I do want you to come back, Faith. This is your home now." 

Faith smiled a little but didn't say anything. Instead she walked over to where her fake corpse lay and squatted down next to it, fully taking in the scene. She shook her head sadly and couldn't seem to look away. 

"That was supposed to be me. Still can't fuckin' believe it." 

"I know," Buffy said as she slowly walked over and stood behind Faith. "And we're not exactly out of the woods yet but Willow and Giles are working on it. The council won't know you're not dead right away. It'll be at least a day before they realize another slayer hasn't been called, but by then we'll be somewhere far away from here and hidden by a cloaking spell." 

"Sounds like I'm still gonna have to do a whole lotta runnin'," Faith said. 

Buffy nodded despite the fact that Faith couldn't see it and squatted down next to her. "Kinda beats the alternative though, huh." 

Faith nodded this time though and managed to pry her gaze away from the bodies to look over at Buffy, who reached over and squeezed her hand. Faith squeezed back and, had it not been for the professor coming up next to them, there was no telling what could have happened next. 

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful," he interrupted, "but I have a class to teach at eight-thirty and if I won't be there, I need to inform the university so they can cancel my classes for the day." 

Taking a deep breath, Buffy stood up and offered him the biggest, fakest smile that she could muster. She hooked her arms through his and began leading him through the living room at a slow stroll. 

"Actually, Professor, I think you may want to take a trip out of town for a while. If you're seen out in public, there's a good chance that scene," she hiked her thumb over her shoulder, "could become a reality again, just with less Faith. Do you think you can disappear for a while?" 

The professor began to ramble about different dig sites he could travel to, excitedly jabbering on with more zest for his work than any one person should have. Buffy pretended to listen but stole a glance back at Faith who was still squatted down next to the gory illusion. 

Faith reached out to touch the image of her own face but pulled her hand back at the last moment. She shook her head and looked over at Buffy, her eyes dancing with emotion. Buffy simply gave her a small smile. 

They'd changed fate, together. 

Now she just hoped that the new path they'd created would be better than the last one. 

* * *

The sun had risen hours before but Buffy and Faith were still stuck in the small apartment, both of them trying to avoid the scene in the living room. The professor had decided to stay hidden away in his bedroom, packing some clothes away for the trip he'd be taking. Knowing they needed to stay out of eye sight as well, Buffy and Faith took to sitting around in the kitchen, neither girl particularly chatty but comfortable with the silence. 

Faith had helped herself to the fridge and was currently munching away on some left over Chinese take away that Buffy decided smelled a bit too questionable to try. 

"This is taking forever. When the hell are those creeps gonna leave town?" Faith complained with a mouthful of food. 

"Soon, I hope. If they don't leave today we're gonna have problems dodging the council when they realize there's no new slayer." She took a deep breath and then grimaced, her face screwing up in distaste. "That stuff smells like your boots." 

"Quit hatin'. You ain't ever smelled my boots," Faith replied as she slurped a long lo-mein noodle into her mouth. 

"Trust me on this: they're quite aromatic." She peeked down into the carton Faith was eating from and grimaced. "You really should have rethought your snack choice. That can't be fresh. It looks all disgusting and wrong." 

"So does your face," Faith retorted. She laughed at herself and Buffy rolled her eyes, but when Buffy looked back at her, she noticed that Faith had stopped chewing and was actually staring at her face in wonder. "Actually, it ain't. You can quit moping now, B. You're gorgeous again." 

Buffy furrowed her brow and touched her face but it felt exactly the same still. Unable to find any mirrors in the kitchen, she peeked out the kitchen door and into the living room which was now clear of any sign of holographic gore. She looked back at Faith, her smile big and eyes wide. 

"It's back to normal. The assassins are gone." 

"A-fucking-men," Faith replied. She shoveled a few more forkfuls of food into her mouth and then stood up, tossing the empty carton into the trash. Buffy felt her walk up and peek over her shoulder into the living room. "Isn't this our cue to make a run for it? Suns up so we've got a short break before the mayor's vamps are back up and around. They think I'm dead but that doesn't mean the mayor is gonna just gonna let this mess sit here. He's gonna call in a clean-up crew and when they find a shocking lack of bodies, the hunt's gonna be back on." 

Buffy nodded, "So we've got until dusk to get out of town. We can't risk going back to your place but we can swing by mine and grab some stuff. I have to tell my mom what's going on, then I have to get the magical protection from Willow, and then we have to meet Giles and get the tickets . . ." 

"Then why the hell are we still standin' here then?" 

Not waiting for a reply, Faith grabbed her hand and led Buffy out of the kitchen and through the apartment to the front door. Before she could pull her out, Buffy shouted back over her shoulder, "You can leave now, Professor Worth! Keep safe!" 

"You too, young ladies!" he shouted after them as they peeked out into the hallway and raced out when they found it empty. 

The clock was once again ticking and they needed to move, fast. 

* * *

Despite the fact that the immediate danger was gone, Buffy and Faith still stuck to the back streets on their way back to Buffy's house. Daytime traffic was always fairly non-existent in Sunnydale so they didn't run into too many people. As they approached her house, Buffy saw that her mom's car was still in the driveway and she started jogging up to the front door. Joyce opened it just as Buffy was about to. 

"Oh, Buffy!" Joyce said. She pulled Buffy into her arms and Buffy happily hugged her back, feeling like she was finally able to breathe again after the whole ordeal. 

Why did moms have that safe-feeling effect? It puzzled Buffy but instead of questioning it, she basked while she could and started mentally preparing herself for what she was going to have to tell her mother. 

"I'm so glad you're safe," Joyce said as they pulled back from the hug, her hands still on Buffy's upper arms. She looked over at Faith and, though it took her a moment, she smiled at the girl as well. "The both of you." 

"Sorry for the drama, Mrs. S," Faith apologized, looking fairly self-conscious. Buffy knew she didn't have to be; her mom was one of the most forgiving people she knew. That and she'd always seemed to have a soft spot for Faith. 

"Don't apologize, honey," Joyce said, stepping back into the house and indicating for them to follow. "I'm just glad that the two of you were able to work through your differences and get past this as a team. It's such a relief to know that there's someone else out there like, Buffy. As a mother it makes me sleep a tiny bit easier knowing that you girls can take care of each other." 

Faith smiled though Buffy could see the guilt in her eyes. The brunette was going to have to get over that if they were going to stand a chance at staying safe together. But then it was Buffy's turn to feel guilty; how was she going to explain to her mom that she was leaving Sunnydale? 

"Speaking of taking care of each other," Buffy began, looking up at her mother through her eyelashes, "Faith isn't exactly out of the woods yet. The council will be looking for her once they realize she's not dead and she's got some other bad luck following her too. Until we can find a way to keep her safe, she needs to leave Sunnydale." 

Joyce frowned. "Buffy, I know you're an expert at this slayer stuff and that I'm just supposed to support you unconditionally – which I really try to do – but don't you think that now's a bad time to split up?" 

"It's funny that you should say that," Buffy said brightly, "because it is a bad idea to split up, so we're not going to." 

"Well thank god for that," Joyce replied. 

"Which is why I have to go with her." 

A silence fell over the room as Buffy had a staring contest with her mother. Joyce didn't look angry; she merely looked like she was weighing the pros and cons . . . and maybe thinking of ways to punish Buffy when this was all over. Buffy stood her ground, her gaze not wavering. She could feel Faith staring at her but she couldn't look away from her mother; it was a sign of weakness and she could not afford to look weak right now. 

After several agonizing moments, Joyce finally signed and shook her head. 

"I don't like it. I don't like it one bit." 

"Mom," Buffy began pleadingly but Joyce cut her off. 

"Let me finish. I don't like it. I don't like any of this life or death business." She took a long deep breath. "But I guess that sometimes things are too important for my displeasure to overrule. Buffy, I'm proud of you. Faith needs help and well, if it's protecting she needs, you're the person for the job. You're the best darn slayer I know." She quickly looked over to Faith. "No offense, dear." 

"None taken," Faith replied with a grin. 

"Mom?" Buffy said and Joyce looked back over at her, finally managing a smile. 

"Do what you need to do, Buffy. You have my support. Just stay together, and please, please – stay safe." 

Smiling, Buffy slipped into her mother's embrace once again and hugged her tightly. She basked for as long as she could but the sound of Faith's foot tapping eagerly brought her back to reality. 

"We need to pack. We're leaving today," she said as she pulled out of the hug. 

"So soon?" Joyce asked, surprised, and Buffy nodded. 

"We need to be out of town before dusk. Would you mind calling Willow and letting her know we're here while I get some stuff together in my room?" 

"Of course, honey." 

"Thanks," Buffy replied, then looked over at Faith. "Come on."


	17. Seventeen

Buffy went through her closet and dresser drawers agonizing over what to pack while Faith sat Indian-style on her bed, doing nothing but watching her. Part of her wanted to ask Faith why she wasn't helping but the other half of her knew that if Faith even tried to help, she'd have to duct-tape the other slayer to the bed.

"I don't even know what kind of clothes I should be packing," she complained aloud. "We'll both be sorry if I pack winter clothes and Giles sends us to Mexico." 

"For what it's worth, it could be totally worse. We could end up in summer clothes in Alaska." 

Buffy stopped packing and looked up at Faith, a frown upon her face. 

"I could see how that would be even less of the good." She sighed and rubbed her palm over her forehead. "This isn't working. I need to know where we're going. Once I do, I can have us packed and out of here in less than five minutes." 

"I'll believe that when I see it," Faith replied under her breath, then caught the pair of socks Buffy threw at her head. She reclined back on Buffy's bed with her head on the pillows and began to toss the folded pair of socks into the air, catching it over and over again. 

Buffy watched her for a few moments and wondered why it bothered her more that Faith was playing with a pair of her socks than it did that she was laying on her bed. Maybe it was because they'd had to learn to deal with each other over the past couple days, or maybe it was because of the fact that they'd basically shared a makeshift bed the night before. 

They'd also shared some kisses in said makeshift bed. 

The memory hitting her like a truck, Buffy suddenly realized she was still watching Faith and quickly went back to packing. Her sudden movement caught Faith's attention and Faith stopped throwing the pair of socks up and down long enough to look over at her. 

"What?" Faith asked, sensing that the atmosphere had changed somehow. 

"What what?" Buffy replied, trying to play it off like nothing. 

"What do you mean, what what? What happened?" 

"Nothing happened," Buffy said, looking up at Faith and then quickly back down to the bag in front of her. 

She felt Faith watching her but didn't look up, pretending to be focused solely on packing. Faith didn't seem to be buying her act though. 

"You're thinkin' about it, aren't you?" 

"About what?" Buffy asked, stopping what she was doing to shoot Faith a look that would have sent them into an argument spiral previously. All it did this time was make Faith's lips crack up at the corner a little. 

"Kissing me," Faith replied easily. 

Buffy slowly resumed what she was doing, choosing her reply carefully. She made sure not to look at Faith as she answered, "Sorry to burst your ginormous bubble but I was thinking more about getting us out of here safely." 

"Ah," Faith said nonchalantly. She rested back down on the bed and began tossing the socks up in the air again. "To clear things up, you said you were thinking more about our great escape." 

"Yes, exactly," Buffy replied, relieved that Faith was finally catching on. 

"But you have to be thinking about something at least a little bit to be thinking about something else even more, right?" 

Buffy looked up at her and tilted her head to the side a little as she pursed her lips. Why was Faith choosing to focus on this now? Who cared if she'd been thinking about kissing her? It was a little bit difficult to banish from her mind! 

Instead of replying, Buffy went back to quietly agonizing over what to toss into the bag next. She was hoping Faith would let it go too but judging by the quiet chuckle and the grin the girl was wearing, she knew that wasn't the case. Laying the sweatshirt she'd been holding down atop the opened bag, she sighed and fully faced Faith. She opened her mouth to speak, ready to freely admit that she'd been thinking about the kiss, when her mother cleared her throat in the doorway. Faith shot up into a sitting position and Buffy looked over at her in question. 

"I spoke with Willow, honey. She and Xander are on their way over with your tickets and everything else you'll need." 

"Thanks mom," Buffy said with relief. 

"I didn't know what I could do to help so I rounded up a bunch of things you might need while gone." 

Joyce walked into the room and set a medium-sized manila envelope on the bed and Buffy picked it up, taking a quick peek inside. She could see her passport and her birth certificate, along with a wad of cash that made her eyes bulge. She looked up at her mom who smiled nervously. 

"I was saving it to have the roof replaced but you need it more right now," Joyce explained. "I don't know if you'll be gone for two days or two weeks and the thought of you having to live off of pop-tarts and slim jims is making me insane with motherly worry." 

"Mom, you don't have to . . ." Buffy began but Joyce cut her off. 

"Yes I do. I'm your mother, Buffy, and it's my job to take care of you and worry about you. Now is there anything else that I can do?" 

Buffy thought about it and looked over at Faith who didn't seem to react at all except to return her gaze. 

"Uh, some sandwiches maybe? We haven't really eaten properly and I don't know how long we'll be traveling for before we reach our destination." 

"Of course," Joyce said with a smile. "Peanut butter and bananas on whole grain?" At Buffy's nod, Joyce looked over at Faith. "Ham and swiss on rye?" 

Faith looked a bit shell-shocked that Joyce had remembered her favorite sandwich but somehow managed to nod through her disbelief. Joyce smiled and turned to walk out but Buffy stopped her right at the threshold. 

"Mom, wait," she began nervously and Joyce turned around, waiting for her to continue. "There's one more thing. After this is all over with; once the dust is settled and it's safe for us to come back . . ." she paused and took a shaky breath, "do you think we could clean out the spare room for Faith?" 

She could feel Faith look over at her but she didn't meet her gaze, afraid that she'd lose her nerve or possibly that Faith would see something that Buffy wasn't quite comfortable revealing. Not when they still hadn't quite yet landed on steady ground in their friendship. 

Joyce looked suddenly very proud of her daughter and nodded her head. "I'll start working on it today." 

Buffy watched as Joyce looked over at Faith and smiled, then turned and walked out the door and down the steps. Not knowing quite what to do next, Buffy focused once again on the bag in front of her. She could feel Faith glance at her but she didn't look up. 

"Why'd you do that?" Faith said after a few minutes, sounding as though her voice didn't want to cooperate with her. 

Daring to look up, Buffy found herself lost in Faith's intense gaze. She opened her mouth to speak but discovered she was having a hard time with her words as well. 

"Because I wanted to," she replied simply. 

They might have stood there staring at one another for the rest of the day but the sounds of footsteps jogging up the carpeted steps pulled them from their quiet moment. Buffy looked away first, putting on a shaky smile when Willow entered the room with a few items dangling from her hands. 

"Hey Wills," Buffy greeted her. "Hi Buffy," Willow replied, then looked over at Faith and managed a smile. "Hi Faith." 

"Red," Faith nodded. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, approaching the two girls. "I should probably thank you for, uh, what you did earlier." 

A genuine smile on her face now, Willow's eyes lit up and she waved her hand dismissively. "It was nothing. Besides, you should save your thanks for when you get back. And I do mean when and not if. I don't want to brag but . . . okay, I'm totally going to brag: the protection charms that I made are so cool!" 

She eagerly dumped the things she'd been carrying onto the bed and sorted through them until she found what she was looking for. Pulling what looked like a hemp bracelet from the pile, she checked it over and then began to tie it on Faith's wrist. It had a small dull stone woven into it and Faith looked at it while Willow worked away. 

"This will protect you from even their most powerful seers," Willow explained. "It's a Dyruvian holy stone. Keep it on you at all times and they won't be able to use magic on you and you won't end up getting hurt." 

"Hurt me?" Faith asked. "Assassins don't hurt people, they kill them." 

"But their assassins failed so they'll move on to the next phase now," Willow replied. "They'll use magic to find you and magic to hurt you or worse. Giles wasn't exactly clear on their methods but he told me that witches and mystics are the second response." 

"Great," Faith said bleakly. She sat back down on the edge of the bed and looked down at the bracelet, running it through her fingers. 

"But we can protect you against them. If the bracelet fails, we have a second line of defense: Buffy." 

Willow put her fingers through what looked like some kind of ancient brass knuckles but made of dull stone and covered with intricate engravings. Buffy raised one of her eyebrows. 

"I'm going to punch the magic people with brass knuckles made by some kind of voodoo cavemen?" she asked doubtfully. 

When Willow gave her an apologetic look, Buffy raised her other eyebrow. She didn't have time to defend herself from the blow Willow threw at her chest. Her fist landed square on Buffy's sternum and though she winced, she didn't get the pain she'd been expecting . . . until Willow pulled her fist back and an intense burning sensation began on her ribs. 

Dropping to her knees, Buffy clasped one hand to her chest and braced herself up with her other hand on the carpet, looking up at Willow with tears stinging her eyes. Both Willow and Faith dropped down next to her, Faith giving Willow angry looks between worrying about Buffy. 

"I'm sorry!" Willow apologized. "Giles said it would take your breath but he didn't say it would be this bad!" 

"What did you do?" Buffy asked, trying to catch her breath as the pain began to subside. 

She started to get up and Faith immediately ducked under her arm, lifting her with ease. Faith walked her to the edge of the bed and sat down alongside her, checking her over. Buffy couldn't stop looking at Willow though and at the now smooth brass knuckles on her hand. 

"It's a cloaking spell," Willow explained, kneeling on the floor and looking up at Buffy. "It takes a swift blow to transfer the markings from the object to a person. They're engraved on your ribs now. They'll wear off over time but for the time being, the council can't see or find you." 

"Then why didn't you just put them on me?" Faith asked angrily. 

"Because you both need to be protected. Buffy will wear a bracelet too but we needed a second line of defense and that's her. So long as you stay within one hundred yards of each other, you'll both be protected by its magic." 

"I still don't get why . . ." Faith began but then went quiet, obviously trying to work it out in her head. Buffy looked over at her and her heart sank when she saw the hurt flash behind Faith's eyes. "Right. Got it. If something happens to me, B still needs both lines of protection." 

"It was the best plan we could come up with on such short notice and with only one rune stone," Willow said sadly, looking from Faith to Buffy with worry in her eyes. 

With the pain in her ribs now completely gone, Buffy reached out and laced her fingers through Faith's. When Faith looked over, she offered her a tentative smile. 

"Hey, it's okay. We're gonna be together anyway so it doesn't really matter. Besides, you were beat up enough the other night. Time for me to take my share of it." 

Nodding her thanks, Faith looked down at the mattress and noticed the other bracelet that was meant for Buffy. She picked it up and let go of Buffy's hand so that she could tie it on her. Buffy regarded the bracelet and then groaned softly. 

"Couldn't you have at least picked out something that goes better with my wardrobe?" she asked and Willow grinned. 

"Sorry, Buff. Magic isn't always the best for the fashion conscious. At least you'll be safe though." 

"Yeah, but at what cost," Buffy said playfully. 

"Speaking of cost," Xander chimed in as he entered through the doorway with a sandwich in one hand and some papers in the other, "you're gonna owe Giles big time when he realizes how much of his cash I used on these tickets." 

Buffy smiled brightly. "Mexico?" 

"New York?" Faith asked. 

"Even better," he replied. He tossed the tickets over to Buffy and then took a whopping bite from his sandwich, crumbs falling messily from his lips. 

Buffy quickly opened the tickets and her smile fell when she looked them over. "Montana?" 

"Yup!" he said excitedly. 

Buffy opened her mouth to speak but the closed it, knitting her eyebrows together in confusion. She let Faith grab the tickets from her hands and watched as Faith had much of the same reaction. 

"Why the hell would you send us to Montana?" she asked, equally confused. 

"Because nobody would go to Montana! It's the perfect place to hide out!" he said enthusiastically. "Think about it: the council has people all over the big cities and they'd pretty much be able to figure out all of the other obvious spots. Montana has mountains and possibly some livestock, though I think it'd be better to hide in the mountains than under a cow. Just my opinion there." 

"He's probably right," Faith said after a moment. I woulda picked LA or New York City. Never woulda even considered Montana." 

"Is this really our best option?" Buffy asked, directing her attention to Willow. It wasn't that she didn't trust Xander, she just questioned his judgment on occasion. Example: why would he pick Montana when he could have picked Mexico and pictured them frolicking in bikinis? And didn't he know she loved the beach? She tried very hard to suppress her pout. 

"I think it is," Willow said. "Besides, they can get to big cities a lot quicker. Were they to send anyone after the two of you . . ." 

"We'd have more time to run," Buffy finished for her. "Ok, I get it. The best plan beats the more attractive bikini plan." She ignored the weird looks they all gave her and decided she had another question that needed answering. "Won't the council think it's weird that I'm missing too?" 

Willow and Xander looked at each other and shared a knowing smile. Reaching for one of the last items on the bed, Willow opened up the small velvet satchel and pulled yet another crystal orb from it. The orb was already swirling with smoke, a spell having already been cast on it. 

"We're going to throw them off your scent. Giles is going to tell them that you've gone to visit your Dad in Miami. They can check up on you all that they want and they'll see a nice scene of you frolicking on the beach and having lots of fun in the sun." 

"Nice," Buffy said. She took the orb from Willow's hand and inspected it carefully, then frowned as she realized something. "Wait, you had to take the visuals from my head to make it work the last time. How did you get the visuals this time?" 

Willow didn't answer. Instead she looked over to Xander who was looking a little bit more then guilty. Buffy's eyes widened and Faith couldn't help but grin. 

"Sorry Buffster," he apologized with a sheepish smile. "I'm a teenage boy. I can't be held responsible for the party my brain has when I have such lovely female friends." 

Buffy had the common decency to blush and Willow cut in once again, trying to save her from any more embarrassment. 

"We're sending the orb with a special courier later today. It'll reach Miami tomorrow and Giles has a friend who's going to receive it and set it up. By then you and Faith should be stashed safely away in a cabin resort in Montana. Giles had me pick up another rechargeable cell phone," she took the cell phone from the mattress, the last item she'd brought with her, and handed it to Buffy with the power cord. "He said not to test its water resistance this time." 

"I'll try my best," Buffy replied. She took the tickets back from Faith and looked them over once again. "Our flight leaves in three hours so we need to get a move on. I'll finish packing some clothes for us. Wills, Faith is gonna need some ID if we want to get her on the plane. Do you think you can cook something up?" 

"I'm on it," Willow said with a nod. She made her way downstairs, her determination obvious in every step she took. 

"What about me?" Xander asked excitedly. He took another whopping bite of his sandwich and waited for a task. 

"Well you can stop eating my sandwich for starters," Faith said. 

He stopped chewing, his eyes wide as he looked down at the half-eaten sandwich. Looking back up, he swallowed loudly and held the sandwich out for her which she eagerly took and began eating. 

"Sorry," he apologized. "When someone hands me a sandwich, my first instinct is to eat first and ask questions later. Anything else I can do to help?" 

"We'll be ready to leave shortly," Buffy told him. "Go and get another sandwich if you want. We'll be down in a few minutes." 

Nodding, Xander left them alone in the room and went downstairs to see if Willow needed any help. Buffy began to properly pack now, taking t-shirts for the days and sweaters for at night. Her jeans would be too short on Faith so she packed several pairs of yoga pants and anything else she found that she thought might fit. She began tucking the clothing into the first bag and then into a second when the first one was full. 

"Try not to worry about clothes," Buffy said. "Once we're settled and figure out where we are and what's around us, we can buy you some replacements until we come home." 

"Think your friends would mind stopping by my old place and packing up some stuff before the mayor clears the place out?" Faith asked. 

The mayor! Buffy had almost forgotten about him. 

"Shoot, I knew I was forgetting something," she replied. "I'll ask Angel to do it. He's busy planning his move to LA but I'm sure it's something he can take care of quickly. Besides, Giles is gonna have to recruit him to help take down the mayor since we won't exactly be here to do it." 

Faith sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You sure you wanna do this, B? The Hellmouth needs a slayer, especially with the mayor up to no good." 

"I'm sure," Buffy said with a nod. "Angel's a good fighter and he's been around more baddies than I care to think about. He can handle what's going on in Sunnydale until we get back. Besides, if things get really hairy, we can come back and just stow you away for a few days. Whatever happens, it'll be fine. We'll be fine." 

After sharing a look, Faith stood from the bed and began to help Buffy packing clothes into the bags. They were heading off to the middle of nowhere with no weapons, no friends, limited funds, a questionable wardrobe, and no idea how long they had to stay there. 

But at least they were going together.


	18. Eighteen

Buffy tried not to smile as she looked over at Faith who was as white as a ghost and gripping her armrests so tightly that they creaked under the pressure. Her eyes were clenched shut and her lips were pressed together in a straight line. It was her first time on an airplane and she wasn't dealing so well.

And the fact that her reaction was so severe while the plane was only boarding didn't bode well for the actual flight. 

"You need to try to relax," Buffy said calmly. 

Faith opened her eyes and glanced over at Buffy without turning her head which was pressed firmly back against the headrest. 

" _You_ relax." 

"I am relaxed." 

"Stop braggin'!" 

She closed her eyes once again and Buffy had to cover her mouth to stop from laughing. Big bad Faith could take on a nine-hundred pound Chitunda demon with her bare hands but she couldn't take a two and a half hour flight in first class. It was hard for Buffy to digest. 

"How is it possible that you were ready to face three men with guns but you can't take a simple flight?" 

"At this point I'd rather take on the guns." 

"Well it's too late for that. They're already on a plane back to England." 

"Good for them. I hope they fuckin' crash." Suddenly Faith's eyes shot open. "Fuck, wait, no. I take that back. No crashes today. Nothin' but good karma here." 

The last of the boarding passengers walked by them and Buffy smiled as they passed, hoping that they hadn't heard their conversation. She didn't want to get kicked off any planes today. When the coast was clear, she turned to Faith and spoke quietly. 

"Flying is safer than driving." 

"Listen B, if humans were supposed to fly we'd have wings. Haulin' us around in big tin cans in the sky is the stupidest idea in the history of ever. And if I wanted to . . ." she froze as one of the stewardesses closed the door with a loud thump, ". . . what the fuck was that?" 

"They're just closing the doors, calm down," Buffy said. 

"I thought we already covered the calming down thing, yeah? Ain't happenin'. Just get that heavy cinderblock you call a suitcase and hit me over the fuckin' head with it. That's the only way I'm . . . what the hell is that noise?" 

Faith's eyes were wide as she glanced out the small window to her side. She'd wanted the aisle seat but Buffy had told her no, afraid Faith would get up and try to jump out the door once they were in the sky. 

Buffy listened carefully to determine what Faith was going on about and figured it out once she got a peek out the window. 

"It's just the wings, they're raising the flaps." 

"What the fuck for? Is the plane about to turn into a fuckin' Autobot?" 

The passenger in front of them cleared his throat and Buffy smiled apologetically when he looked back. When he turned away, Buffy glared at Faith and whispered harshly. 

"You need to lower your voice if you're gonna keep freaking out. And clean up the language. If they kick us off of this plane we're stuck in California, right where the Council will look for us first." 

"Fine fine, fuckin' fine," Faith replied, getting one last curse in there. She continued to stare out the window, her knuckles white from gripping the armrests so hard. 

Buffy shook her head and looked out into the first-class cabin but then she remembered something. 

"What's an Autobot?" 

"Transformers," Faith said. The look on Buffy's face must have relayed that she was still clueless because Faith elaborated even more. "Robots in disguise?" 

Buffy shrugged her shoulders, still unaware of what Faith was talking about, and grabbed the in-flight magazine from the pouch of the chair in front of her. She opened it and flipped casually through the pages, trying to find something interesting to read. 

"Let me guess," Faith began mockingly, "you were one of those kids who played with Barbie and My Little Pony and all of those other stupid girly toys, right?" 

Her eyes still focused on the magazine, Buffy replied, "I'm sure they were only stupid to the kid who dressed their robots in Barbie's wedding dress." 

She heard an indistinguishable sound come from her side and looked over to see Faith giving her the most confused look she'd ever seen. Had it been on anyone else she'd have called it cute. 

"I don't even know what to say to that," Faith said. "What the hell are you talkin' about?" 

" ‘Robots in disguise'?" Buffy said as if obvious, repeating Faith's description from a few moments before. 

Faith shook her head, a look of complete disbelief on her face. She let go of her death grip on the arm rests and scratched the back of her head, then ran her fingers through her long hair. 

"Guess that settles the question if you're a natural blonde or not." 

They settled into what was the most comfortable silence they'd had since they'd arrived at the airport. Faith finally seemed to be a tiny bit less worried and she reached into the pouch in front of her for her own magazine. Finding it empty, she leaned over the armrest and peeked over Buffy's shoulder, trying to find something interesting to read on the same page she was reading. 

"Don't, that's creepy," Buffy said. She moved a bit more toward the aisle but Faith just leaned further over with her. "I'm seriously considering hitting you over the head with my carry-on bag at this point." 

"Got a feeling there's rules against assault and baggery on planes. Might just have to pucker up again if you wanna keep me distracted." Faith wiggled her eyebrows and Buffy grunted with distaste and used her elbow to push Faith away from her. 

"You know, I had a feeling you'd go there," Buffy said neutrally. She reached down into one of the smaller bags she had stashed between her feet and rustled around a bit. After a moment she plopped a small stack of papers onto Faith's lap. "Know that I stole those for you from the twelve year old boy that was sitting next to us at the departure gate." 

Faith looked down at her lap and her eyes lit up as she turned the small stack around so that she could read the brightly colored covers. 

"Comic books? You stole me comic books!" 

"I sure did. That should buy me three hours of silence, right?" 

"Shit, at least! Thanks B! I take back all that shit I said about you being a prissy little girl." 

Buffy clenched her teeth and tried to keep focused on the magazine she was holding. "You _didn't_ say anything like that." 

"Oh," Faith replied and seemed to be trying to find a way to backtrack. After a minute she shrugged. "Well sorry I thought it then. Whatever. We good?" 

"Perfect," Buffy said through her still clenched teeth. "Juuuuuust perfect." 

She focused on her breathing and keeping calm and barely noticed the small motion when the plane began to slowly back out of its place at the terminal. Faith must have felt it though because the comic books slid to the floor with a quiet slip and Buffy suddenly began to hear the sound of the armrest creaking once again. She wasn't going to look, wasn't going to pay any attention to it, really, but when she heard a loud crack, she knew that she just couldn't ignore it. 

"Shit," Faith said, holding the now broken armrest in her hand. She was as white as a ghost again and breathing hard and quick. "Shit, shit, shit." 

Stowing away her previous annoyance for another time, Buffy let it all go with a deep breath. 

"Hey," she said calmly, "it's fine, Faith. Everything is fine." 

"Feel like I'm gonna lose my lunch here." 

"Then let's be prepared for that, alright? Come on, let go of the armrest, it's not gonna help you now." 

Faith did as she was told and the armrest fell to the floor with a soft thud. Her hand immediately reached out for something else to grab onto and in its haste, grabbed onto Buffy's hand. Buffy allowed the contact and actually laced her fingers through Faith's, gritting her teeth when Faith clasped on way too tight. 

The plane began to approach the runway and Buffy quickly grabbed the barf-bag from the back of the seat in front of her. She tucked it in Faith's free hand and then sat back, watching the girl carefully. 

"Just breathe." 

"You better not tell anyone about this," Faith said through her clenched teeth and Buffy smiled. 

"Your secret's safe with me." 

* * *

Luckily for Buffy, Faith didn't need to use the barf bag. Once they'd finished their ascent and were above the cloud cover, Faith seemed to find a sense of peace that stayed with her through the rest of the flight. She seemingly forgot about the comic books on the floor at her feet and instead looked out the window the entire time. She even forgot to let go of Buffy's hand until Buffy got up to the bathroom. 

When Buffy returned to her seat they didn't hold hands again . . . until the plane began to descend. Faith's new sense of calm went right out the window during the landing. As they pulled up to a small log cabin in an airport convenience van, Buffy was still rubbing her sore hand. She didn't think it'd ever feel right again. 

"This the place Xander told you about?" Faith asked, leaning forward to check the building out. 

"Looks like," Buffy said. "He didn't book reservations for us because it could be traceable but he said there are tons of vacancies and that it's supposed to be pretty isolated." 

"I'll say," the driver said. "This has to be almost a hundred miles off my route." 

"And we told ya we'd make it worth your while, didn't we?" Faith asked. "B, pay the man." She stepped out of the van and grabbed their bags from the back along with a few bundles of towels, bedding, and basic supplies they'd purchased from a store along the way. Dropping them on the wooden porch of the cabin, she began to check the place out. 

Buffy pulled the small manila envelope from her purse and pulled out two hundred-dollar bills. She handed them to the man and then pulled out another fifty-dollar bill, holding it just beyond his grasp. 

"You never saw us, right?" 

"Forgot your face already, sweetcheeks," he replied. He grabbed the fifty from her hand and winked, barely waiting for her to step out of the vehicle before pulling away. 

The sun was already beginning to set and Buffy looked around the area, taking in the tall trees and the mountains that seemed to completely surround them. The small cabin had a sign on it that said ‘check-in' and there was a row of electric golf-carts for rent alongside it. 

"Stay out here with our stuff, I'll go check us in." Already half way up the steps, Buffy stopped and reached into her pocket and tossed her cell phone to Faith. "Call Giles and let him know we're here?" Faith nodded and Buffy continued her ascent. 

Stepping up onto the wooden porch, she opened up the screen door at the top of the steps and stepped inside, a high-pitched bell alerting the clerk to her presence. He quickly got up from his recliner and turned off the television he'd been watching, then made his way behind the desk and smiled amiably. 

"Welcome to Seven Hills. Do you have reservations or are you looking for a place to stay while passing through?" 

"We don't have reservations but we aren't exactly passing through either. We're calling it an extended holiday." Her tone was chipper – maybe too chipper – but it just made the man smile even bigger. 

"Well that's great," he replied. "We have plenty of cabins available and even a few that are long-term. I can give you some great weekly rates because we haven't quite hit tourist season yet and the regulars don't come until at least July." 

"That sounds great," Buffy said, smiling. "Are there a lot of campers registered right now?" 

"Only a handful, honey, and they're mostly in the short-term section. If you'll be staying with us a while we'll probably stick you in one of the more private areas at the back of the range. That is, unless you'd like to be nearby." 

"No, no, privacy is good. We just want someplace nice and quiet to relax." 

"Then I've got the perfect cabin for you," he said. He reached behind him onto a splintered wooden shelving unit and produced an old key, along with a bunch of paperwork. "Now this paperwork is all just a formality. We have to keep it on record here for tax purposes." 

"It's not a problem," Buffy replied. "Is cash okay?" 

"Cash is king," he joked. "But you _are_ eighteen, right? I need at least one person of age to fill out the paperwork for insurance purposes." 

Buffy nodded and reached into her pocket, pulling out her drivers license. She slid it over the counter and, after a quick inspection by the man, she tucked it safely away. Quickly filling out the forms, she gave them one last look-over before handing them back. 

"Looks good," he said as he quickly perused them. "You'll be staying at the Walker Cabin. It has two bedrooms, a kitchenette and bath, a brand new fireplace, and a nice cozy living room. I think you'll find it a perfect place to relax." 

"Sounds great," Buffy replied, breathing just a little bit easier. 

They were almost out of the woods now. All they had to do was figure out a way to stop the mayor and the council. Okay, so maybe not as far out of the woods as she'd thought, but at least the threat of immediate harm was gone and they were still breathing. 

"Here's a map of the campgrounds," he said, placing a color brochure on the counter and opening it up until it displayed the map. He drew a circle around the cabin they were in and then a line down the twists and bends of roads until he came upon a cabin way out in the middle of nowhere it seemed. He circled the cabin and slid the map closer to Buffy. "That's your best route. My wife Sue runs a small general store along the way if you need any last minute items. It's open from noon til nine every day. Your cabin's a good three, three and a half mile hike from here but you girls are young. I'm sure you can make it in no time." 

Buffy frowned. Camping? Not so much her thing. The cabin made it more tolerable than tent camping but hiking through three-plus miles of wilderness with their bags did not sound like a fun time. She looked out the window and bit her lower lip as she spotted the golf carts. 

Frivolous, maybe, but she was still a city girl and she wasn't willing to part with basic amenities at this point. They weren't yet at the point of desperation. 

"Is there any chance we can rent one of the golf carts? For a few days, at least. We'll need to hit the general store tomorrow and I think it would be wise to have something to load everything onto." 

"Of course." He turned and pulled a key from a row of hooks on the wall and handed it to Buffy along with another form to fill out. She quickly scribbled her information on it and handed it back to him. "The fee is twelve dollars a day. You're responsible for plugging it in and charging it up once you get to your cabin." 

"Not a problem," Buffy said as she pulled some money from the manila envelope. "Here's sixty, just so we don't have to drive down every day." 

"We have a maintenance crew that does the rounds every day. If you decide you've had enough fun with the cart, you can have them take it down for you if you like. Just make sure it's charged," he replied as he took the money and put it in a small metal cash box. "Other than that, enjoy your stay and let me know if you need anything. My name's Charlie." 

"Thanks Charlie," Buffy said with a smile and made sure she had the keys and everything else she'd gone in there with. Satisfied that she had everything, she walked out through the creaky old screen door and immediately noticed that Faith had abandoned her duty of watching their baggage. "Faith?" 

She looked around the immediate area but still saw no sign of the girl. 

"Faith? This is just great!" she whispered harshly. "I leave you alone for five minutes and you leave our only belongings to be bag-napped!" 

But Buffy's annoyance quickly gave way to panic. They needed to stay within one hundred yards of each other. If Faith had wandered off . . . god, there could be no way of telling where she was if she was laying dead somewhere! 

"Faith!" she said a bit louder and nearly jumped out of her skin when a loud thud sounded off to her side. She jumped back to see Faith standing there, having just jumped down from the cabin roof. "Are you insane!" 

"Not since I started Scooby-rehab," she answered easily. "The reception's shit out here. Couldn't get a signal so I tried to get to higher ground." 

"Well do you think you can be a bit more discreet next time?" she asked in a loud whisper, putting on a fake smile and waving as Charlie peeked out the window at them. 

"Sure thing, B. Next time I'll just put on my Superman costume and fly around ‘til I get a signal. That better?" Ignoring the look Buffy gave her, Faith picked up a couple of the bags and looked at Buffy. "So where we headed?" 

Buffy bent down and picked up the remainder of the bags, wincing at the pain in her still sore hand. Without so much as a word, Faith took the bags from her and waited for direction. Trying to hide her surprise, Buffy cleared her throat a little. 

"Uh, our cabin is pretty far so I rented one of the golf carts for a few days." She held out the key and Faith somehow found a way to grab it from her despite the fact that she was carrying all of the bags. "My name is on the cart, Faith; I'm driving." 

"You've got a gimpy hand, you can't drive." 

"You're the reason for said gimpyness!" She followed after Faith who started off toward the golf carts. 

"Details, details. Fact of the matter is that I've got the key and I ain't givin' it up. Now you've got two choices: You can ride on me or you can walk alone." 

"Ride _with_ you," Buffy corrected warily and Faith grinned. 

"Details, details." 

She winked at Buffy and found the car that matched the number on the key. It was plugged into the electric but she disconnected the cord without much ado. Dumping the bags onto the back and securing them with a strap, she hopped into the drivers seat and started it up. She backed it out of its space and pulled up alongside Buffy, giving her a sexy grin. 

"C'mon and take a ride with me, B. If you play your cards right I'll let you honk the horn." 

Buffy raised an eyebrow and took a deep breath. There was nothing more she would have liked to do than blow Faith off after that but it was gonna get really dark really soon and she was pretty sure that there was at least one bear lurking in the forest that preferred Buffys to picnic baskets. Besides, she'd have to practically run after the cart in order to keep Faith in their hundred yard bubble. 

That bubble was going to get very annoying very quickly. 

Saying nothing, Buffy climbed into the passenger seat and had to quickly grab onto the dashboard as Faith took off at top speed.


	19. Nineteen

It was Buffy's turn for a white-knuckle ride this time around, one hand clasped on the dashboard and the other hand gripping a small handle to the side of her seat the entire time. If there were any bears nearby they didn't see them but they did nearly run over an unfortunate raccoon who'd decided to try to have a snack in the middle of the road. Sending the poor critter scurrying back into the woods, Buffy decided that keeping her eyes closed for the remainder of the ride was a good idea and didn't even so much as steal a peek until she felt the golf cart slow down and come to a stop.

When she opened her eyes, what she saw stole her breath away. 

They were parked next to their cabin which she couldn't even bother to check out because she was too busy gawping at the sun setting into the mountains behind it, casting an orange glow into the lake below. It was like something off a postcard, but she'd never actually seen a postcard that beautiful before. 

"Is this for real?" Faith asked, unable to look away from the beautiful scenery. 

"If it isn't, you veered off the path somewhere and drove us into Oz," Buffy replied. 

She stepped off of the golf cart, her legs still wobbly from the scary ride, and took a few steps down the gently sloping hill behind their cabin. Faith followed a few minutes later and they stood silently side-by-side in ankle-deep grass, unable speak or even move. 

"I don't care if I ever go back to Sunnydale," Faith finally said. "Leave me here with some food and a chair and I'm set." 

Buffy finally managed to look away from the sunset and glanced over at Faith. It was like looking at a different person. Gone was the mask of cockiness and toughness, leaving only the real Faith in the open. It was almost as beautiful as the sunset and Buffy quickly looked away, afraid she'd get caught staring. 

She didn't know what was going on with herself but Buffy knew she needed to get her act together before Faith caught on and twisted it into something it wasn't. 

"We're losing daylight pretty fast. We need to get inside and see what we're dealing with before we're stuck in the dark together for ten hours." 

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Faith teased, finally managing to pry her gaze from the sunset. 

"Being around you is scary enough in the daylight," Buffy teased back, grinning to herself as she headed back toward the golf cart. "Come on." 

Faith followed just a few steps after her and swooped in, gathering up all of the bags before Buffy had the chance. Buffy would have argued but her hand was aching even more now after holding onto the golf cart so tightly. Instead she reached into her pocket and took out the old brass key and made her way up the three stairs to the wooden porch that wrapped around the cabin. There was some old wooden lawn furniture around the deck and a little painted ceramic gnome that seemed strangely right at home against the old wood shake siding. The wooden boards creaked under her feet but they were strong; the entire outside of the cabin appeared in pretty decent shape despite her fears. 

The key stuck when she slid it into the lock but after a bit of finagling, it finally turned and the door popped open with a loud creak. She was afraid to look into the cabin but with Faith pressing against her back and ever-so-gently urging her forward, she finally took a few steps until she was fully inside. It smelled of wood and nature but it wasn't exactly unpleasant; it was just something she'd never quite known being a city girl. 

She held her breath when she saw a light switch on the nearby wall; electricity meant hot showers, and hot showers meant a much more agreeable Buffy. Deciding to try her luck, she flipped the switch and smiled when an overhead light came on in what turned out to be the open living area. 

The cabin was basically one large room with a big sofa and fireplace in the living room, a few area rugs over the wooden plank floors, and a small kitchenette at the far end. There were two doors against the left wall which Buffy guessed was a bedroom and a bathroom, but where was the second bedroom? 

Faith walked in beside her and looked around, whistling low. 

"Well ain't this somethin' outta Little House on the Prairie," she said. "I get the top bunk." 

"Top bunk? What are you talking about?" 

Faith pointed up to the open loft area that Buffy hadn't noticed yet. There were no stairs that led up there, just an angled ladder that came down near the kitchen area. "There's gotta be a bed up there. It's mine. You can stay in the room down here." 

"Wait, why do you get the good room?" 

"Just figured you'd want the room with the door," Faith said with a shrug. "Whatever. I'll take the room down here then." 

She strolled across the room, looking around as she went, and flicked on another switch upon entering the bedroom. Buffy followed after her, curious to check out the accommodations. There was a decent-sized bed inside and a small dresser and bedside table. There was nothing in there that made the room especially spectacular . . . except for the picture window that faced the mountain lake perfectly. 

"Bet you're kickin' yourself right about now, huh," Faith said with a grin as they both stared out the window. She dropped the bags on the floor and jumped up onto the bed, taking a test bounce or two. 

Not wanting to show her disappointment, Buffy sucked it up and walked back out into the main room of the cabin. She gripped one of the rungs of the ladder and gave it an experimental tug to make sure that it was sturdy, then climbed up to the small loft. A smile crossed her face as she looked around, all disappointment gone. The bed was easily king-sized and even though the basic linens weren't her idea of glamorous, it still looked so inviting. There was a viewing window cut into the side of the sloping roof so that you could see out into the mountains. There was even a little bench seat along the window for comfortable viewing. 

"Ka-ching!" she said aloud, happy to have finally been the one to hit the jackpot. She walked over to the bed and flopped down, sprawled out across the mattress. 

She could still hear Faith jumping on the bed downstairs and would have ignored her if not for the sound of creaking springs giving way to a loud thump. There was some rustling, followed by Faith cursing under her breath, and then Buffy heard the unmistakable sounds of someone coming up the ladder. A moment later Faith plopped down beside her. 

"Hey roomie." 

"Don't ‘hey roomie' me. You have your own room," Buffy said easily. 

"Bed's broken. I'm stayin' up here with you." 

"Maybe in another universe," Buffy grumbled , then turned so she could push her feet against Faith's leg. "Get out!" She was whining more than anything, which was probably why Faith was grinning and not budging an inch. 

In fact, Faith folded her arms beneath her head, the perfect picture of relaxation. 

"You've been my roomie for like three days, B. You should be used to it by now." 

"I'll share a room but I'm not sharing my bed. You can sleep on the couch." 

Faith adjusted so that she was laying on her side just a few inches away, head propped up on her hand so that she could look down at Buffy. 

"You didn't have too much of a problem with layin' next to me last night." 

Buffy opened her mouth to reply but she hesitated, finding that she really didn't know how to reply to that. What had happened between them, well, she couldn't explain. It was a thing. They got caught up in the danger and the heat and emotions and things had happened. 

"We were both scared and we needed something solid to cling to. We were lucky we stopped before it went any further," she said shakily, unable to look away from Faith's penetrating gaze. 

Faith nodded a little and pressed her lips together, then leaned in until their faces were just a few inches away and said, 

"Yeah, thank god I stopped us, huh. No tellin' how far you woulda took it." She winked and got up from the bed and headed back downstairs where she began unloading the bags. 

Buffy lay there stunned, completely unable to come up with any coherent thoughts. One thing rang through though: Faith was right. Had Faith not pulled back from their kiss, there was no telling if Buffy would have stopped what was going on. While she liked to believe that she would have had enough sense to stop it, something inside of her knew that she wouldn't have done anything to do so. 

Staying up in the loft and hoping that some time would let the awkwardness clear, Buffy finally joined Faith in the room below after a few minutes had passed by. Faith seemed to be completely unaffected, pulling towels and toiletries out of the bags and stashing them in the bathroom. Buffy met her in the living room and helped her go through the remaining bags, sorting out which clothes were whose and everything else that needed to be put away. 

Faith tossed the clothing bags up over the railing of the loft, ignoring the glare that Buffy gave her as they landed with a thud on the floor above. 

"Well now that all that's settled, what's for dinner? I could eat a bear." 

As Buffy finished rummaging through the cupboards she stood up straight and sighed. "You might have to. There are no pots and pans and we didn't exactly think to bring any." 

Faith looked at the cans and boxes of food they had stashed on the countertop and tilted her head to the side. "We got a can opener at least?" Buffy nodded and held it up for Faith to see. "Then we're five by five. Go and plug in the golf cart and I'll get dinner started. Won't exactly be gourmet but I know a few tricks of the trade." 

Allowing to let Faith take the lead on this one – Buffy had never really had any luck in the kitchen anyhow – Buffy did as she was told and walked outside to plug in the golf cart. She decided to take a few minutes to get to know the lay of the land, walking around the cabin and the immediate area to check everything out. There were almost no remaining signs of daylight so she was careful, watching every step she took. Only when she heard some nearby bushes rustling did she run inside, locking the door behind her. 

Vampires she could handle. Monsters, demons; fine. There was no way she wanted to face any bears though. There could be fleas, and that was just full of no. 

She turned around from locking the door and was surprised to find Faith working away in the kitchen, a small kerosene lamp lit to give her some extra light. She had two cans of Spaghettios opened and was slicing the paper labels off of them with a small pocket knife she'd bought at the store along the way from the airport. Buffy had said it was a frivolous purchase. Now she knew that it hadn't been. 

Faith was smarter than she let on. 

"Need any help?" Buffy offered as she walked over and took a seat at the small wooden table. 

"Nah, got it covered," Faith replied. 

When she was done cutting the labels off, Faith took the box of long wood matches that were near the old stove and easily lit two of the burners. She placed the tin cans directly on them and then took a step back, smiling victoriously as they began to cook. 

"How'd you learn to do that?" Buffy asked. 

"Ate a lotta Spaghettios when I made the trip from Boston to Cali. Bums might be smelly but they don't mind sharing trade secrets of outdoor living if you're willin' to share your dinner with ‘em." 

She pulled one of the other chairs out from the table and sat down, her eyes already dancing with excitement as she remembered her journey. Buffy smiled and decided to bite; there were few things Faith liked more than story-telling. 

"How long did it take you?" 

"The trip?" Faith asked and Buffy nodded. "Coulda taken a bus but I wasn't exactly rollin' in funds, yunno? Decided to hitchhike and walk, mostly. Took me almost four weeks but that was because I ended up stoppin' a few places along the way to help out." 

"Vamps?" Buffy asked. 

Faith shrugged. "Sometimes. There was a hellhound causing havoc in Owasso. Some werewolves in Albuquerque. A wraith in Flagstaff. Shit, I'd never even seen a wraith before. Didn't know its ass from its head but I took it out with a bit of luck. Was laid up there for a few days before I was able to walk again." 

"You did all of that without a watcher?" 

"Kinda had no choice." 

"But you did have a choice," Buffy replied with a smile. "Faith, you were running for your life but you still stopped to help people. Even more than that, you did it without knowing what you were even getting into." 

Faith looked suddenly uncomfortable and she stood up from the table. She walked over to the stove and began to stir the cans, her back toward Buffy. 

"Don't go playin' like I'm some kind of hero, Buffy. We all know I screwed things up first chance I got." 

Buffy stood up and walked over to Faith, putting her hand on her shoulder. Faith didn't turn around which was probably a good thing. 

"You've made mistakes; we all have. But you're not a bad person, Faith. In fact, you're probably one of the better ones out there." 

She waited for Faith to respond but Faith just kept right on stirring. When Buffy pulled her hand away, Faith finally spoke up. 

"If that's true, the world's fuckin' doomed." 

Buffy could almost hear the tiny smile in Faith's voice and it made her smile too. Instead of saying anything, she went and sat back down, letting the air settle around them again. Faith stood at the stove for a few more minutes, stirring until the tins were heated enough. She grabbed two dish towels and grabbed the cans, carrying them quickly to the table before they could burn her hands. 

"You want bread with that?" 

Buffy nodded and Faith grabbed the loaf from the countertop, doling out two slices apiece before twisting the bag and tossing it back on the counter. She gave a spoon to Buffy and kept one for herself, eagerly tucking into her can of Spaghettios. Buffy followed suit, carefully blowing on her spoonful of steaming pasta before finally taking a taste. They tasted just like they were supposed to, no surprises. Humming happily, she began to eat spoonful after spoonful, a comfortable silence surround them. 

"Thanks for making dinner. It's good." 

"Least I can do. I probably owe ya after everything that's happened, right?" 

"Maybe, but that's something we can work out another time," Buffy replied playfully. She smiled when Faith stole a glance up at her but noticed that Faith didn't exactly smile back. In fact, a sadness seemed to cross Faith's face before the girl realized it and quickly went back to her food. 

Buffy decided to let it go for the moment, silently hoping that wasn't a sign of things to come. 

* * *

It was well after midnight when they decided to go to sleep, the boringness of having nothing around to entertain them finally giving way to drowsiness. Buffy found that she couldn't exactly sleep though; she still had far too much on her mind to be completely relaxed. 

She'd finally given in to Faith's pleas to share the huge loft bed, and really, she could see Faith's point. There was no sense in one of them sleeping on the couch if the bed upstairs was big enough to hold eight people. They drew an imaginary line down the middle of the bed and stuck to their own sides, Buffy under the blankets they'd purchased at the store and Faith under the blankets that had already been on the bed. 

They lay in silence though they were completely awake, neither girl even bothering to pretend to sleep. There was no point to it. 

"That offer still stand to hit me over the head with your luggage?" Faith finally said after about an hour. 

"We already unpacked the luggage," Buffy noted, looking over at the mostly empty bag now resting on the bench across the loft. "I could throw you off the balcony though if you'd like." 

Faith seemed to think about it for a minute. "Yeah, but then I'd have to climb back up here unless I wanted to sleep on the couch. Sounds counter-productive." 

"You're probably right." 

Silence descended upon them again, although now that it was blatantly obvious that they were both awake, the silence was a bit less comfortable. Buffy pulled the blankets up to her neck and held them there, the cool mountain air making the cabin feel a lot colder than she'd believed possible. Tomorrow they'd have to light the fireplace and keep it burning throughout the night just to kill the chill. 

No wonder it wasn't peak tourism season yet. 

"We'll have to climb to higher ground tomorrow to see if we can get a phone signal. My mom's probably worrying out of her mind since I haven't checked in." 

"We can do whatever ya need," Faith replied. "We should probably see if we can get some pots and pans, probably some more basic supplies too. Spaghettios ain't gonna cut it for long." 

"There's a general store. We can stop there tomorrow. And for the record, I thought your Spaghettios a la Faith were pretty good." 

Faith chuckled and Buffy smiled to herself. She liked making Faith laugh. It was nice to have things be a bit easier between then. That was the way it should have been from the very beginning. 

After a few minutes of silence, Faith spoke again. "Hey B?" 

"Yeah?" 

"In case I didn't get my point across before, I just wanna say . . . thanks. Yunno. For taking my side. Still don't understand why ya did, probably never will. Doesn't really matter. I owe ya." 

"No you don't. You don't have to make it a . . ." she stopped speaking when she realized that Faith had gotten closer, close enough to touch, and was now laying just to her side and looking down at her. ". . . thing." 

She lost her train of thought and could barely remember to breathe as Faith got closer and closer, her eyes fixed on Buffy's lips until she was just a breath away from them. Buffy was helpless to stop her; for the second time in as many days she found herself lost in Faith's gaze and she couldn't pull away. Didn't want to pull away. 

But the need for air became an issue and she quickly took a deep breath, putting her hands on Faith's shoulders and stopping her descent. 

"Whoa whoa . . . Faith, wait. What are you doing?" 

"Thanking you," Faith replied, her voice taking on a sultry note as she tried to lean back in again. When Buffy stopped her once more, Faith pulled back enough to look into her eyes. 

"Not like that," Buffy said, shaking her head lightly. Hurt flashed behind Faith's eyes and when she began to pull away Buffy stopped her with a hand on her arm. "I'm not trying to . . . please don't be upset. I'm not rebuffing you; I just . . . it shouldn't be a thank you. It should be . . . something else." 

Faith seemed to think about it for a minute, their eyes locked the entire time. When her gaze became a bit softer, Buffy knew that she understood; that she knew that Buffy wasn't that kind of girl; that she didn't want to cheapen something so important by marking it payback or a favor. 

Taking a deep breath, Faith leaned in once again but this time pressed her lips to Buffy's cheek, letting them linger there for a moment before pulling away and finding her way back to the other side of the imaginary line. 

"Sleep tight, B," Faith said quietly. 

Buffy stared up at the ceiling, her fingertips briefly pressing against her cheek where lips had rested just a moment before. Her heart was beating like crazy in her chest yet she felt a sense of relief that she was alone again on her side of the bed. 

"Yeah. You too." 

What was going on between them?


	20. Twenty

The sun was bright in the sky and for at least the third time that day Buffy wished she'd been smart enough to pack a pair of sunglasses. As it was, she had to use her hands to shield her eyes from the sun every time she looked up the trail to where Faith was about twenty yards ahead of her. They'd started out side-by-side but Faith kept running ahead, trying to find the magic spot that held a growingly elusive cell phone signal.

"Anything?" Buffy yelled as she noticed Faith holding the phone up in the air again. 

"Nada," Faith replied. "Startin' to think we might have more luck with some string and two tin cans or a messenger pigeon. There are a shit-load of birds ‘round here." 

"I think we'll save those ideas for our very, very last resort," Buffy replied as she approached Faith and looked over her shoulder at the phone. 

"C'mon, we gotta get higher." 

Faith began to continue up the path once again, walking a little bit slower this time. Buffy kept pace with her and took the phone back when they reached a boulder bigger than her house. She watched as Faith scaled it with ease, looking a little bit more than silly in the pink cotton pants and shirt Buffy had loaned her. Of course there had been an argument that morning over the clothes she'd pack for them but it wasn't as if Faith had many choices. She put on the matching pink pants and shirt and promised to get Buffy back for it. 

Buffy was still trying to figure out exactly how Faith planned on doing that. 

"Toss it up here," Faith said and Buffy did as she was told. Faith caught the phone without incident and opened it up, hoping to get a signal. The look on her face let Buffy know that there wasn't one. 

"Still nothing?" Buffy asked, shielding her eyes from the sun once again. 

"Not even a blip," Faith replied. She tossed the phone back down to Buffy and began to climb down. "You sure it's not just the phone?" 

"It got a signal back in Sunnydale." 

Buffy looked over the phone but still couldn't find anything wrong with it. The phone wasn't the problem; Montana was. Montana had it out for them, she was sure of that much. It was probably because she's said such unflattering things about it while still in California. 

"Then we'll keep going. Maybe we'll have better luck once we get above the canyon walls." 

"That means we're . . .?" Buffy began, unable to keep the whine out of her voice. 

". . . headed to the top," Faith replied with a grin. "You're a slayer, B. Don't punk out on me now." She started off again with renewed zest in her step and Buffy watched her go, frowning. 

"I'm not punking out," she said defiantly yet she made no effort to move. 

When Faith was almost twenty yards ahead of her again, Buffy heard a noise to her side. She looked over and saw a little chipmunk hugging the side of a tree, watching her out of the corner of its eye. She couldn't help but smile; it was adorable! Well, that was if you could get past the fact that it looked a little bit like a rat. Actually it looked a lot like a rat. Frowning more, Buffy took a cautious step back. 

Didn't rats spread the plague? 

"Faith, wait up!" she called out and began jogging until she was walking alongside Faith again. Faith raised her eyebrows in question. "What? A chipmunk was considering making me a zombie. I'm sorry that the wildlife and I aren't exactly besties." 

"Jesus chr . . . B, tell me you're not seriously afraid of a pansy-ass little chipmunk," Faith replied, shaking her head as they carried on up the trail. 

"At least I'm not afraid of flying," Buffy said and Faith snorted. 

"I'll push you off this mountain, we'll see how you feel about flying then." 

"Ah, another threat you'll never come through on," Buffy teased. Faith opened her mouth to reply but Buffy cut her off, grinning. "Try up there?" 

Though it looked like Faith still wanted to say something, she nodded and headed up another boulder. This one was less like a boulder though and more like a mountain atop another mountain. When Faith crawled over the ledge, she disappeared from Buffy's sight and didn't immediately reappear. Buffy waited for nearly a minute before she began to get nervous. 

"Faith?" There was no reply, not a single peep. "Not a good time to mess around with me, Faith. I may or may not be carrying a zombie virus and I'm feeling vulnerable." 

Still there was no response and when another minute passed, Buffy officially began freaking out. Rather than stand there and call out while Faith could be dangling for her life on the other side of the boulder, Buffy tucked the cell phone in the waistband of her pants and began to climb, trying to follow the same steps Faith had. When she reached the top, she found Faith standing just a few yards away, back turned to her and unmoving. 

"God, why didn't you answer me? I was starting to worry about you. It's becoming way too frequent a habit." 

Faith didn't reply and Buffy just stared at her unmoving form. A bug flew in front of her face and Buffy promptly swatted it away, then began to slowly approach Faith, her brow furrowed. Only when she got closer did she realize why Faith had stopped and wasn't responding: they'd reached the top of the mountain. 

They were looking out across the most gorgeous landscape she'd ever seen. There were mountains and hills spotted all over the valley and some of the tallest trees she'd ever imagined possible. Birds were swooping around between the rocky peaks and she wasn't positive but she thought she could hear water running nearby. 

The only thing this place was missing was a rainbow and a unicorn and Buffy was fairly sure the unicorn was there and just hiding out of sight, possibly frolicking with some other mythical creatures. 

They stood in silence for several minutes, just taking it all in. Here Buffy had thought the sunset the previous night was gorgeous. This was definitely better. 

Faith was the one who finally spoke first. 

"Did you get a signal?" 

"Huh?" Buffy replied, suddenly remembering why they were up there in the first place. "Oh, right. Uh," she pulled the phone out of her waistband and flipped it open, her eyes widening when she realized that one of the bars were lit up. "We've got a bar!" 

Faith looked over her shoulder as she hit the number Giles had programmed into the phone, then listened as the line connected and began to ring. It only rang two times before he picked up. 

_"Buffy? Is that you?"_

"Yeah, it's us. You can thank Xander for sending us someplace where phone signals are about as common as leprechauns," she replied. 

_"Thank god, we've been worried. We've tried locator spells to see if you and Faith arrived safely at your destination but with the protection and cloaking spells in place, Willow's magic is as useful as pants on a penguin."_

"We've been climbing a mountain all morning to find a signal and I don't know how long we'll have it for, but we're here and we're safe. Not exactly prepared to rough it in the woods but we're making do." 

_"Excellent,"_ Giles replied. _"You're fortunate you made it out when you did. The council is sending operatives over to continue searching for Faith. They're aware now that they've been duped as a new slayer hasn't been called so they've begun the magical phase of their operation. Soon they'll realize she's magically protected as well."_

"Well have you figured out what we're gonna do next? Faith and I can't exactly hide forever." Faith was watching her and Buffy looked up, staring into her eyes. 

_"I'm afraid not,"_ he said regrettably. _"Willow and I are looking for ways to clone the slayer essence – make a magical doppelganger of Faith, if you will – but the magic is quite advanced and neither of us is equipped to pull it off as we are. I assure you, we're working round the clock to find a way to rectify the problem."_

"What about our other problem?" Buffy asked, unable to look away from Faith's penetrating gaze. 

_"I've asked Angel to use his connections to aid us in our research. Whatever Mayor Wilkins is planning, it seems that it will take place on graduation day. We still have twelve days to figure it out and Angel has told me he thinks he has a lead."_

"Faith and I need to be there," Buffy replied, finally managing to look away from Faith. "We're the slayers; we do the slaying. If the mayor is planning something demon-y, you're going to need us there." 

_"Buffy, what we need is for you and Faith to stay where you are until we can rectify the situation with the council. If we manage to do so before graduation, we can surely use your help against the mayor, but I'm afraid Faith must remain absent until we can eliminate both threats. Do you understand?"_

Buffy took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. The thing was, she did understand; but if they got the Council to back off, there was no way that Faith would willingly stay behind. Not when she was trying so hard to prove that she was on Team Buffy again. 

"I do," she finally replied. "I'll try to come back to this spot every day or two to check in. Could you please call my mother and let her know I'm safe?" 

_"Of course. Anything else?"_

"Yeah," Buffy replied after a moment. "Can you also tell her that there's a chance she won't be able to see her only daughter walk across the stage at graduation?" 

Giles sighed and she heard the phone rustle softly. _"I'll do everything in my power to make it safe for you to return before then. Please tell me you'll be careful until then?"_

"I will. Bye Giles." She hit the power button and closed the phone, tucking it back away in her waistband. Faith was looking at her expectantly. "The council knows you're alive but Giles and Willow are all over it. Angel is working on dealing with the mayor. We're stuck here until at least the council has backed off and even then, Giles doesn't want you coming back until the mayor has been taken care of." 

Faith thought about it for a minute and nodded. "I'm just glad that he wants me come back at all. After everything that happened, I can't really bitch about that, yunno?" 

"I guess," Buffy replied quietly. The sun was shining even hotter now and she had to wipe a bit of sweat from her brow. "I'd give anything for a pool or some air conditioning." 

The grin on Faith's face didn't really put her at ease, nor did the way she grabbed her arm and practically dragged her off the boulder and back down the path. 

* * *

"Geronimo!" 

Buffy covered her face as Faith jumped into the cool mountain lake for what had to have been the twentieth time. Water splashed all over the protruding flat rock she was sunning herself on but instead of complaining, she just ignored it this time. Complaining led to more jumping. She'd learned that the hard way the first dozen times she'd yelled. 

Her pants and shirt were bundled up under her head as a makeshift pillow and the warm sun felt oh so good on her skin. She didn't see any problem lying around in her bra and panties; honestly, they covered more than her bikini did anyhow. Besides, Faith seemed to think the same thing and was currently swimming around in just her bra and panties too. She'd wanted to go in completely nude but Buffy had vetoed that idea. Compared to that idea, the bra and panties were the best thing ever. 

Buffy laid with her eyes closed, listening to Faith splashing away as she swam this way and that in the big lake. It was like their own private oasis, surrounded on three sides by mountain-ish walls and on the fourth by the slope that led to their cabin. The splashes started getting closer and Buffy looked over to see Faith resting with her arms on the rock, squinting into the sun as she looked up at her. 

"You enjoyin' yourself?" Faith asked. 

"Doesn't suck," Buffy replied. "I've had worse quasi-vacations." 

"Well I haven't had any so I'm gonna enjoy this one. Thought you said you wanted a pool?" 

"I did. And then I jumped in, and now I'm done." 

"Shortest swim in the history of short swims," Faith said under her breath. "You sure you don't wanna have another dip? We can race. Even promise I won't dunk ya." 

"I'll pass," Buffy said with a smile. She tilted her head back toward the sky and closed her eyes once again. 

She'd expected to hear Faith swim away but Faith stayed where she was, her feet kicking slowly in the water while her arms rested on the rock. The water lapped quietly at the stone and Buffy took a deep, relaxing breath. 

"Hey B?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Remember how you said you'd do anything for a pool and then I brought you here?" 

"Uh-huh," Buffy said warily. 

"Well I kinda figure that you might wanna come through on that whole ‘give anything' part." 

Buffy opened her eyes and looked over at Faith, putting her forearm over her brow to block the sun from her eyes. "I'm _not_ having sex with you, Faith." 

Faith laughed and shook her head, a few droplets of water leaking down from her slicked-back hair. "Not asking you to." 

"Oh." Buffy replied, trying to figure out what she meant. "Well what did you mean then?" 

Faith looked at her for a few moments and seemed to be choosing her words. Finally the right corner of her lips cracked up into a crooked smile and somehow, she almost managed to appear innocent. 

"Kiss me." 

Okay, almost innocent. Maybe it wasn't controversial as what Buffy had expected, but still . . . 

"What?" 

"Kiss me," Faith repeated easily. 

"Why would I do that?" Buffy asked. 

"Because I wanna kiss you, and sometimes I think you might wanna kiss me too." 

"Faith . . ." 

"Wait, hear me out. Two nights ago was our first kiss, right?" 

"Second," Buffy corrected her. "At my house, in the bathroom . . ." 

"Oh, right," Faith replied. "But here's the thing: it was our first – second – kiss, but it's not like it didn't almost happen like a couple dozen times before then. We always used to push each other, before things went to shit, I mean. I always kinda thought it might happen, but every time I pushed you'd get all freaked out. Not that I blame ya or anything; kissing somethin' this hot has gotta be intimidating." 

Buffy glared at her and Faith grinned, but the grin quickly gave way to a softer smile. The kind of smile that Buffy liked seeing but rarely ever had the chance to. Faith continued. 

"When you did it the other night though? You were okay with it. I think that's because it was you; your choice, your decision, whatever." 

"But it isn't my choice if you ask me for it," Buffy replied, sitting up a bit so that she could look at Faith without having to squint. 

"Still kinda is. Besides, if I don't do something I might be waitin' til I'm like seventy and I'm pretty sure slayers don't make it that long, B." 

Despite the smile on her face, Buffy could hear the effort behind Faith's words. The girl was trying hard to make sense and clearly didn't want to be rejected now that she was kind of putting herself out there. 

Fully sitting up, Buffy swung her legs around so that they hung over the side of the flat rock and into the water. Faith hopped up onto the rock and sat beside her, her wet skin touching Buffy's. Buffy took a moment, choosing her words carefully before looking over at the girl. 

"I can't just kiss on command or by request. I mean, I can, but I'm not going to. It might be simple to you but . . . for me it's more involved. I don't know how to explain it, but . . . trust me when I say that if I feel it, I'll do it." 

Faith seemed to accept that and looked out across the lake, nodding lightly. 

"Okay. I get that. But you gotta answer me one question." Taking a deep breath, Buffy nodded and Faith continued. "Are you into me?" 

Buffy looked over at her and searched her brown eyes, but for what she wasn't sure. 

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. 

"Okay," Faith replied. She looked confused for a second as she looked down at her lap but then met Buffy's gaze again. "But are you _not_ into me?" 

And as much as Buffy wished she could say yes, she just didn't know. Part of her wanted to yell ‘yes!' and be done with the flirty subtext once and for all, but she couldn't do that. She just wasn't sure. 

"I don't know," she answered again, and this time Faith grinned. It was the kind of cocky grin that she was used to and she had to fight the urge to push Faith back into the lake. 

"So what you're sayin' is – there's a chance." 

Giving in to the urge, Buffy put her hand on Faith's back and pushed her into the cool water. What she didn't expect was for Faith to surface and grab onto the back of her calves, yanking her in as well. She paddled and kicked until she reached the surface, spluttering her discontent. Faith wrapped her arms around her and held her steady as they drifted away from the rocky ledge. 

"I can't believe you did that!" 

The look on her face must've been a murderous one because Faith held up one of her hands in surrender. Just one though. The other arm stayed wrapped firmly around her waist. 

"Hey, I give. You can't hurt me though." 

"Oh, I can and I will!" 

Buffy was about to put her hands on Faith's head to push her under the water but what Faith said next took her by surprise. 

"You wouldn't do that to a girl on her birthday, would ya?" 

Buffy nearly slipped under the surface again but Faith caught her just in time. When she regained her balance, she looked at Faith with questioning eyes. 

"Today's your birthday?" 

"It's June 10th, right?" At Buffy's nod, Faith continued. "Then it is." 

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" 

"Cos you were busy saving my life and I didn't wanna look needy or anything," Faith said, grinning softly. 

"Well we should do something," Buffy said. What though, she didn't know. She needed to do something for Faith though. "Something special." 

"Just you bein' here with me makes it better than most of ‘em have been. Haven't really celebrated the last few years so . . ." 

Her words were cut off when Buffy leaned forward and kissed her, keeping it short and soft and as innocent as possible. When Buffy pulled back, Faith's eyes were still closed and she was smiling ever so subtly. 

"Happy birthday, Faith," Buffy said quietly, then a huge grin formed on her face. "And now for your comeuppance!" 

Taking Faith by surprise while her eyes were still closed, Buffy put her hands on Faith's head and shoved her under the water, laughing when she came up spluttering a moment later. 

"You're in way more trouble than you can handle," Faith grumbled playfully. 

"Gotta catch me first!" Buffy replied before taking off across the lake, laughing when Faith began chasing closely after her.


	21. Twenty-One

"Hot stuff comin' through!"

Buffy ducked and narrowly avoided colliding with the paper bowl of food Faith was moving from the kitchen counter to the table. They'd developed an impressive synchronicity in the small kitchen area during the week that they'd been at the cabin now. Sure there had been a few collisions and a food fight or two that resulted from them, but when Buffy and Faith worked together as a team, they were unstoppable. 

She looked down at the bowl Faith placed on the table and frowned. 

"Faith, salad isn't supposed to be hot. Please tell me this isn't something weird you learned from the hobos." 

"I wasn't talkin' about the salad, I was talkin' about the person carrying it," Faith replied with a wink. "Why are you eatin' all that healthy junk anyway? We're on vacation." 

"It's not a real vacation, and I like that healthy junk," Buffy said as she took the bowl of mixed salad and placed it on her side of the table. "Besides, Sue said it's rare that they get something like that in the general store so I snatched it up before someone else could." 

"Someone else? B, we're like the only people here." 

Faith carried her paper bowl of instant mac-and-cheese to the table and sat opposite Buffy, taking a few pieces of bread from the bag before passing it over. 

They'd been able to get a ride into town with Charlie two days after they'd arrived and had bought a basic set of cheap pots and pans so that they could expand their menu beyond Spaghettios and soup. The small refrigerator was just big enough to hold about one week worth of groceries so they'd stocked it up with basics. It had been just about a week though so they were already running out of things and had to get some last-minute provisions from Sue at the general store. 

"No we're not. There are the two families down at the bottom of the hill and the older couple in the cabin near the general store." 

"And I can categorically say that no parents are evil enough to make their kids eat salad while camping. It's cruel." 

"Salad is good," Buffy said with a shrug and she took a forkful and chewed happily. When she was done, she stabbed a few more leaves onto the fork and held it out for Faith. "Here, try." 

Faith raised her eyebrow and looked at the fork, then up to Buffy's face. She put her hand on Buffy's wrist and pushed it back to her side of the table. 

"Pass." 

But when Buffy held the fork back out, Faith sighed and leaned in, taking a forkful of the mixed greens. She chewed slowly, making faces as she did so that clearly showed how much she _wasn't_ enjoying it. 

"Well?" Buffy asked. 

Faith finished chewing and swallowed. "I feel like I'm a fuckin' rabbit." 

"You look like a rabbit," Buffy said under her breath, frowning as she went back to her bowl of salad. 

Faith just grinned at her, letting the lame comeback go. 

They'd been getting along well for the last week and hadn't really argued at all. In fact, Buffy noticed that Faith seemed to be making a big effort to be a bit more agreeable. That didn't mean that she didn't still tease Buffy and make her a little bit crazy, but she took it down a few notches which made it much more bearable. In fact, Buffy found herself growing fond of their banter. 

Their banter wasn't the only thing she was growing fond of though. With Faith's walls down, Buffy realized that she actually liked her. They laughed together, got along for the most part, and all of the past bitterness seemed to fade away. They were just two girls getting to know one another the way they should have from the very beginning. 

Now she kind of understood why Willow and Xander had been so taken with her right from the start. 

Of course she and Faith didn't have much choice but to talk and get to know one another now, what with the complete lack of any modern technology. No music and no TV proved for some boring evenings, though they tried to make their own fun when possible. 

The days were warm and the nights were cool so they'd taken to building small fires in the fireplace every night once the sun was down. While Buffy liked to lay on the couch and read a book she'd found in the cabin, Faith preferred to sit out on the wrap-around porch and look out over the lake and mountains. Buffy occasionally joined her but found that between the bugs and questionable presence of wildlife lurking in the dark, she preferred the safety of the couch. 

They continued to eat their meal in silence, completely at easy with each other. The sun was already getting low in the sky and Faith began to build the fire when she finished eating, bringing in some of the wood that Charlie had dropped off for them on their porch. Paper plates and bowls meant that they burned their trash; the only thing that ever needed washing was the silverware and pots, which Buffy usually took care of seeing as that Faith made most meals. 

They hadn't talked about their kiss from that day in the lake and no more kissing had taken place since. Buffy could tell that Faith was waiting for more but she just couldn't bring herself to initiate it. She was beginning to wish she hadn't told Faith it had to be on her own terms; that gave her way too much leeway to chicken out – which she'd done any time she'd felt the pull between them. 

And yes, she was feeling that pull more and more. 

Another pull they both felt was the call of the slayer. Every day when night fell, they both got a little bit restless, something coiling tight within their bodies that was just begging for release. 

"Another freakin' day in paradise," Faith said as she stared out the window toward the setting sun. 

"All fun and no slay makes Faith a dull girl," Buffy said, grinning even though Faith's back was to her. "If it makes you feel better you can go and wrassle a bear. Can't be much more difficult than the alligator." 

Faith looked at her over her shoulder, her hands still resting on the wooden window frame. "You makin fun, blondie?" 

"Do I seem like the kind of person who would make fun of you?" 

"Actually, yeah," Faith replied, then grinned. "But I ain't too worried ‘bout it cos I know I can take ya any day." 

Buffy smiled sweetly and tossed the dish towel over to Faith. "Nice try, but you're not going to trick me into sparring. The cabin is small and we would completely destroy it." 

"You're probably right," Faith replied, tossing the towel back to Buffy. "I wanna go for a run before it gets too dark, get rid of some energy. Come with me?" 

Buffy knew that if she didn't agree to go, Faith couldn't go either. The one-hundred yard limit of the cloaking spell was really inconvenient sometimes. Still, she didn't feel like getting all sweaty just for the sake of getting rid of excess energy. There were better ways to do that. Ways that involved less clothing. 

No, not that way. Sex wasn't on the menu. 

Feeling a blush begin to creep its way on her cheeks, Buffy shook her head and tried to distract herself from those kinds of thoughts. 

"Will you settle for a swim?" 

Faith seemed to think about it for a moment and grinned. "If it means I get to see you in your underoos? Hell yeah." 

Chuckling, Buffy placed the dish towel over the small ceramic sink and made her way across the room to the bathroom. She grabbed two big white bath towels from the shelf and came back into the main room of the cabin to find Faith eagerly waiting for her. Handing one of them to Faith, she slipped on her shoes and they made their way out of the cabin and down toward the lake. The walk only took them a few minutes and when they got there, they decided to walk further around to the one side where they usually went. It was the area with the flat rock that Buffy liked to sunbathe on and Faith liked to jump off of. 

Faith immediately began to undress, eagerly stripping off her shirt and pants, leaving her in just a bra and underwear. She wasted no time in cannonballing into the lake but popped up to the surface quickly and turned around so she could make sure Buffy was following suit. 

At least that's what Buffy wanted to believe she was doing. If she let herself believe that Faith was oogling her while she stripped, she'd never go through with it. 

Taking off her pants and folding them up neatly, she placed them down on the rock and then made her way to the edge, sitting down carefully so that her legs dangled into the water. It was already a bit too cool for her liking but it beat running around in the woods any day. She kept her shirt on until she was ready to fully get into the cool water. Without meeting Faith's eyes, she quickly lifted it off and placed it atop her pants, then gracefully slipped into the water with only a tiny splash. 

Her mouth opened as the shock of the cold hit her and she panted lightly as she treaded the dark water. The sun was so low behind the mountains now that they could no longer see it and only faint traces of pink and yellow lingered in the otherwise dark sky. The slowly appearing stars provided just enough light so that they could see the area around them easily enough with their enhanced vision. 

"Don't be a baby, it ain't that cold." 

"It's freezing," Buffy replied, her teeth already beginning to chatter. 

"You're such a girl." 

"I thought that was why you like me." 

"I ain't ever been into girls before. Or I haven't fucked any, at least." 

"Wow. Candid," Buffy replied, shaking her head slightly as she fought back a smile. 

Faith shrugged. "You're the kind of girl that likes the truth, B. That's why it's all you'll ever get from me, even if you wish I didn't sometimes." 

"So if I ask you if my butt is getting big from eating meals from a can for a week?" 

"I'll tell you that your ass is still perfect, cos it is," Faith replied with a wink. 

Buffy chuckled and swam out a bit further, Faith following just a few feet behind her. They stopped and treaded water, both girls looking up into the still darkening sky. It was serene, nearly perfect, so of course Buffy's mind had to drift to less perfect things. That was just how it worked, it seemed. She sighed quietly, accidentally getting Faith's attention. 

"What's with the sighs?" Faith asked. 

"I just have a lot on my mind," Buffy replied. "Graduation is in less than five days, the mayor is going to try to do something big and horrible, and the gang still hasn't figured out what or why or how to stop him." 

Faith was quiet for a few seconds but eventually replied, "There's still time. If they don't come up with something solid in the next few days, you should probably get back. They're gonna need a slayer in case they can't stop him before then." 

"I know," Buffy said, nodding gently. "But we can't go back. Not until Giles finds a way to deal with the council." 

"Which he ain't gonna do in the next five days. It's time we face the facts, B: we're leaving your buds with too much shit to handle on their own. They can't find a quick fix for the council sitch when they need to focus on the mayor. They need more juice in their cannons. You gotta go." 

"I'm not leaving you out here in the middle of nowhere with no protection," Buffy said. 

Faith laughed, "I _am_ my own protection, Buffy. I'm a slayer, just like you. I can hit the road until the sitch with the mayor is cleared up. Then we can deal with the council." 

"No. They'll hunt you down and find you. I'm not leaving you now, Faith. We've come this far . . . it'll work out. The good guys _have_ to catch a break for once. We're due one. _I'm_ due one, dammit!" 

Buffy was quickly losing her cool, not because of Faith but because she seemed to be losing more control every day. She was literally stuck in the middle of nowhere, her friends left behind to take care of business she should be dealing with, and Faith kept telling her to go. What was up with _that_? 

"And another thing!" she said, her voice getting higher and louder as she went on. "Quit telling me to leave you! It's not going to happen for two reasons: one – I'm not leaving you on your own yet again; I already screwed that up enough in our past. Two – have you forgotten about this?" 

She grabbed Faith and yanked her closer until Faith's hand laid flat against her chest. Faith's eyes widened for a moment as she looked down at Buffy's chest, then up to her eyes. While at first Faith had looked shocked, now she just looked a little bit confused. Rolling her eyes, Buffy elaborated. 

"The cloaking spell. It's on my ribs." 

"Oh," Faith replied and took what looked like a disappointed breath. "For a sec there I thought you were talkin' about your tits." 

"You're impossible," Buffy groaned and Faith smiled big. 

"Cos no, I'd never forget them." 

"Stop talking." 

"In fact, I'm thinkin' about them right now. Oh, and now," Faith said. She pursed her lips and waited for a few seconds and then added, "Yep, still now." 

"I hate you." 

"Yeah right. That's why you're with me in the middle of Montana, swimming in just your underwear and letting me fondle your chest." 

"You realize I'm about to drown you, right?" 

Faith grinned. "You have no idea how much I wanna kiss you right now." 

Buffy took a breath to say something but stopped and closed her mouth, staring into Faith's eyes. Faith's gaze didn't waver but it did soften a little, as did Buffy's. This was her opening. If she wanted anything to happen . . . this was her chance. Faith had put herself out there again; she was just waiting for Buffy to act. 

The ball was in Buffy's court now. 

After searching within herself for nearly a minute, she finally made up her mind. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. 

"So why aren't you?" 

"Why aren't I what?" Faith asked, confused. 

"Kissing me." 

Faith could only smile. "Cos you said it has to be on your terms. Oh, and cos I kinda don't want you to drown me." 

"Well maybe my terms have changed." 

Faith raised her eyebrows, looking questioningly at Buffy. "Yeah?" 

And for some reason, Buffy couldn't speak. She wanted to, there were words that she wanted to say, but all she could manage in the end was a nod. 

That was all that Faith seemed to need. 

The water sloshed around them as Faith moved forwards and put one hand behind Buffy's neck, pulling her closer until their lips met. Buffy immediately sighed into the kiss, her body finding Faith's under the water and relishing in its warmth even in the cool water. They did their best to try to stay afloat but it was difficult, especially when Faith deepened the kiss and their tongues began to duel. 

They laughed as they sunk down up to their noses and had to pull apart so that they could breathe. They didn't go far though, Faith still staying within touching range so they could loosely cling to one another. 

"How do they make that look so easy in the movies?" Buffy asked. 

"I dunno, but I was about to go down with the ship just so I could keep kissin' you," Faith admitted with a grin. 

Buffy smiled and leaned in, kissing Faith once again. The water splashed around them and they laughed, doing their best to keep their heads above the water. 

"You know," Buffy began coyly, her fingers gently touching Faith's shoulder, "we don't have to be in the water to kiss." 

"We don't?" Faith asked, grinning. They both knew where this was heading. 

"Nope. There's a perfectly nice fire back in the cabin and if I'm not mistaken, there may even be some marshmallows for you." 

Faith's eyes shone mischievously in the moonlight. "I don't think it's marshmallows I wanna eat." 

Buffy nibbled on her lower lip as she looked into Faith's eyes, a small smile forming on her face. 

"Well can we go inside anyways? I'm really, really freezing." 

Faith laughed and nodded, taking Buffy's hand and leading her back toward the rock where their clothes were. She hopped up onto it first and grabbed a towel, then leaned down and helped Buffy up, wrapping it immediately around her. She ran her hands up and down Buffy's arms over the towel, trying to help warm her up. 

Buffy surprised herself by leaning in and catching Faith's lips in another kiss, though this one was longer and deeper than the ones they'd shared before. There was nothing between them this time, nothing that would stop them from taking what they wanted. What they had probably always wanted. 

"You should get your towel, you're gonna freeze to death," she murmured against Faith's lips, keeping the towel clasped as tightly around her body as she could manage. 

Faith pulled back and looked into her eyes, a small grin tugging at the corner of her lips. 

"Don't worry ‘bout me, B, I'm feeling plenty hot." Buffy chuckled quietly and watched as Faith leaned down, picked up her folded clothes, then handed them over. "You're freezing. Get that perfect ass of yours back to the cabin and add another log to the fire. I'll be right behind ya, just gotta get my clothes together. They're around here . . . somewhere." 

Buffy laughed as she looked around and saw Faith's shirt on one rock and her pants on another rock ten feet away. Feeling the cool night air seeping in through the now wet towel, she nodded and gave Faith one last kiss before hopping back down the path as quickly as she could without her shoes on. 

*****

Faith watched Buffy bounce along for just a few seconds before beginning to gather her things. She wrapped the towel around her body and tried to dry off a little, finally starting to really feel the coldness of the night. She was just about to turn and follow Buffy when she heard a small clatter. At first she couldn't tell what it was and figured that maybe it was some kind of nearby critter, but when she looked down at her wrist, she knew immediately what it was: the bracelet. 

She looked around to see where it had gone to but it was nearly impossible with the stars being the only source of illumination now. The rocks around her were enormous and had huge cracks between them, leaving way too many places where it could have gone to. 

Looking over her shoulder, she could already see Buffy in the porch light of the cabin, walking up on the deck and then inside. 

Not good. Definitely not good. 

Feeling a wave of panic hit her, she dropped to her knees and began feeling around. The rock scraped her knees as she scrabbled around but she didn't care; she needed to find that bracelet and she needed to find it fast. 

"Hey B!" she called out, hoping Buffy would come back and help her. A flashlight would be a godsend. 

The seconds ticked by and the bracelet remained out of sight. She felt another wave of panic hit her, only this time it was different. Her heart began beating painfully hard and her head started swimming. She had to stop moving and close her eyes, trying to fight back the onset of dizziness. No matter how many deep breaths she took though, it didn't help. 

Something was wrong. 

Something was happening to her. 

Bringing her hand up to her chest, she pressed hard and waited for the pain there to stop. It only grew worse though until finally it was unbearable. 

"Buffy!" she called out. 

She crawled a few feet down the path before her arms finally gave out from under her. 

Then everything went dark.


	22. Twenty-Two

Buffy made her way into the cabin, leaving the door open just an inch or two for Faith. She couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she grabbed a small log from the iron grate and tossed it into the fire, sending a shower of embers flying around the stone fireplace. The heat felt wonderful on her cool skin and she stayed there for a few moments, basking with her arms stretched out before her so her hands could warm up as well.

She wasn't exactly sure what was going on between them but she wanted this; god she wanted it. Now that it was out there in the open, there was no taking it back and she didn't want to. 

Deciding that she didn't exactly want to be standing around in just her panties and bra when Faith walked in – she did have some standards, after all – she grabbed the maroon and black checkered fleece blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself, then turned to wait for Faith. 

The smile on her face was there to stay but it did eventually start to fall when two minutes passed by and Faith still hadn't followed her in. Maybe she'd gotten caught up trying to dry off out on the porch or something, but that was silly. Why wouldn't she have just come into the nice warm cabin where it would be easier to dry off? 

And then they could just get wet all over again. 

Buffy cringed, unable to believe that she'd just thought that. God, she'd been around Faith for ten days and she was already turning into a raging homo. She'd have to go to the library when they got back to Sunnydale to see if that was some kind of world record. 

She continued to wait but eventually worry began to set in. What if Faith had injured herself, or even worse, if there had been a bear! Grabbing a flashlight from the fireplace mantle, she made her way to the door and peeked out. Not seeing or hearing anything in the moonlight, she ventured out onto the porch and shone the flashlight out into the darkness. There was no sign of Faith or bears or even of zombie chipmunks. 

"Faith?" she called out. 

When no reply came, she stepped off of the porch and began to walk down the gentle slope, looking about in every direction for any signs of movement. Her worry grew even more intense when she saw only one set of footprints – her own – leading up the trail toward the house. 

Clasping the blanket around her a little bit tighter, she began to jog up the trail, eyes focused in the darkness. "Faith?" she called out again. She was fairly sure she could see something up in the distance but the flashlight was weak and the beam didn't reach that far. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized that the something was Faith and that she was laying face down on one of the rocks and the end of the trail. 

"Faith!" 

She ran the rest of the way and immediately dropped to her knees at Faith's side, checking her over before rolling her onto her back. She didn't appear to have any injuries besides a few scrapes on her knees but when Buffy saw her face – eyes open and lifeless and lips blue – she knew that something terrible had to have happened. She immediately grabbed her wrist so that she could feel for a pulse, and that was when she realized that the bracelet that had been there for more than seven days was now gone. 

Unsure of what to do, she took off her own bracelet and tied it on Faith's wrist and then gave her a good shake. "Faith." She patted her cheek a few times but there was no response. "Come on, Faith!" 

There was still no response whatsoever; whatever magic had found her had hit her fast and hard. Faith was supposed to have been right behind her! How had they managed to get more than one hundred yards apart from each other in that short of a time? The only answer was that Faith must have stopped to look for her bracelet. 

Knowing that no slap – no matter how hard – was going to work, Buffy had to try something else. She laid Faith flat on the ground and tilted her chin up, then began CPR. Faith's lips were cold against her own but Buffy tried not to notice it; tried not to remember how soft and warm they'd been just ten minutes before. She concentrated on remembering the lessons she'd taken all those years ago at the Red Cross course, alternating between blowing into Faith's mouth and steady chest compressions. 

Seconds ticked by and Faith continued to lay there unresponsive, her body jerking slightly every time Buffy pushed on her chest. 

"Come on, Faith. Take a breath, dammit," Buffy swore, her eyes filing with tears. 

A spark of hope ignited inside of her when she gazed at Faith's face and saw that she didn't look as pale as she had when Buffy'd found her, but the girl still wasn't breathing on her own and the spark of hope disappeared quickly. She leaned down and pinched Faith's nose shut, blowing another breath into her mouth. This time she felt something though; a slight twitch of Faith's lips. 

Buffy immediately sat back, her hand cupping Faith's cheek as she stared at her. Faith suddenly took a deep breath on her own, her eyelashes fluttering as she tried to find a steady breathing rhythm. 

"Oh god, Faith!" Buffy cried, finally letting her emotions get the best of her. She pulled Faith up into her arms and held her tightly, the coldness of Faith's skin a shock to her own now warmed and sweaty skin. 

Faith slowly came to life beneath her, arms wrapped around Buffy's back and breath blowing softly over her shoulder. 

". . . the fuck . . ." Faith muttered, her voice raspy. 

"What happened?" Buffy asked, tears running over her cheeks and down Faith's back. 

"The bracelet," Faith began, drawing in deep breaths, obviously having difficulties speaking right away. "Came off. Couldn't find it. Tried to call ya back . . ." 

"Oh god, I'm so sorry," Buffy apologized, holding Faith even tighter. "I didn't know . . . we were too far apart. I didn't know, Faith." 

"Not your fault," Faith said. 

She tried to sit up and Buffy moved with her, easing her grip just a bit so that she could see Faith's face. Their gaze met for only a second before they sought out each other's lips, kissing each other fast and soft, breathing against each other's mouth. 

"I felt the magic," Faith murmured against her lips and Buffy pulled back. "Hit me in waves, got really intense. Was like there was a hand squeezing my heart . . . I couldn't breathe." 

She began to shiver and Buffy immediately stood up, pulling Faith up and against her. Faith appeared to be physically okay and didn't really need much help standing but Buffy kept an arm wrapped around her anyhow, afraid to let go now. She reached down and grabbed the fallen blanket with her free hand and wrapped it around them, keeping Faith close. They slowly made the walk back to the cabin and then inside where Faith plopped down on the couch and Buffy immediately sat at her side, making sure that Faith was fully surrounded by the warm blanket. 

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked, worrying her bottom lip. She'd managed to stop crying but her eyes were still red and tears were threatening to spill over again at any moment. 

Faith seemed to think it over, stretching out her arm and testing her strength by clenching and unclenching her first. She narrowed her eyes a bit and then shrugged, pulling her arm back inside the blanket. 

"I'm fine," she said, her brow furrowing as she spoke. "I feel completely fine. Why am I fine?" 

"I don't know," Buffy said, shaking her head slightly. "Maybe I got close enough to you in time that the cloaking spell was able to work again. I put my bracelet on you . . ." 

Faith immediately stuck her other hand out of the blanket and her eyes widened when she realized that Buffy was telling the truth. She began to pull at the tie but Buffy stopped her, hand clenching tightly around the bracelet to keep it in place. 

"B, no," Faith began but Buffy cut her off. 

"It's not me they want," Buffy said, shaking her head again. "Besides, if they can't find me they'll still think I'm in Florida with my Dad. We can find the other bracelet in daylight tomorrow. I'll be fine until then." 

"I can't let anything happen to you," Faith said. 

"God, do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds coming from you right now?" Buffy asked, chuckling a little as she swiped away a few tears that had managed to escape. "Faith, you were dead. You had no pulse, you weren't breathing. Here I am, supposed to be protecting you, and I let that happen." 

She shook her head sadly, another tear rolling down over her cheek. 

"You didn't do anything wrong," Faith replied, reaching her hand out of the blanket to take Buffy's. She didn't just try to hold her hand though; she tugged her over so that Buffy was straddling her lap. She wrapped the blanket around the both of them and smiled up at Buffy. "In fact, you saved me. Again. Look at me, all damsel in distress. You're gonna start gettin' a hero complex soon." 

"Unlikely," Buffy replied shyly. Her breath caught in her throat when she felt Faith's quickly warming hands slide from her outer thighs up over her hips, holding her there in place. In fact, Faith pulled her even closer. 

"You gonna let me make it up to you?" Faith asked, looking from Buffy's eyes down to her lips and back up again. 

"It can't be about that," Buffy whispered, feeling her resolve slipping inch by inch as Faith's thumbs caressed up and down her sides 

"Then it won't be about that," Faith whispered as the distance between their lips became less and less. "It'll be about me wantin' you, and you wantin' me." 

Buffy gasped a little as those thumbs hooked under her panties and rested there, waiting for Buffy to make a move. To give them the go ahead. 

"But you nearly just . . ." she began but Faith cut her off. 

"I'm fine." 

"We should call Giles," Buffy whispered, her lips actually close enough now that they brushed over Faith's as she spoke. "He needs to know what happened." 

"I ain't climbin' a mountain in the dark," Faith replied. She kissed Buffy, sucking gently on her bottom lip. "Only thing I wanna climb is you." 

Buffy grinned a little bit against her lips and actively began to kiss Faith back, her hands wrapping over Faith's shoulders as Faith's hands caressed and rubbed her hips in small circles. She tried her best to stay still but between the kissing and the touching, her hips began to involuntarily rock forward, seeking out the friction that she knew Faith could give. 

"Promise me we'll call first thing in the morning," Buffy murmured. 

Faith nodded rather than replying with words. That was good enough for Buffy. 

"I want you," Faith whispered against her lips. 

"Want you too," Buffy replied. Deciding to take some initiative, she reached behind her back and unclasped her bra, letting it slide down her arms before tossing it out over the top of the blanket. The cool air hit her skin and she shivered, making Faith instantly take notice. 

"You're shivering." 

"I'm cold." 

Faith grinned. "I'll warm you right up." 

Buffy held on tight as Faith scooted to the end of the couch and maneuvered with one hand to take the blanket off from around them so she could let it billow down to the ground in front of the fireplace. Once the blanket was settled, Faith slid down to her knees with Buffy still straddling her and gently laid Buffy down on her back, coming to rest down atop her. The heat from the fire warmed them as they began to kiss again, hands wandering and pulling at clothes that had no business being in the way. 

Despite the warmth from the fire and how good Faith was making her feel, Buffy still found herself trembling slightly. Faith must have noticed it too because she pulled back from the kiss and looked down at Buffy, her eyes sparking in the orange firelight. 

"You're shaking. You still cold? I can get another blanket . . ." 

"I'm fine," Buffy interrupted. "Just . . . a little nervous." 

Faith smiled then, one of the sexiest little smiles Buffy had ever seen. "Ain't gotta be nervous, B. Just relax. I'll steer you around the curves." 

Buffy took a quick breath and stopped Faith who'd begun to descend down her body. "I thought you said you haven't before? With a girl." 

Again Faith grinned. "I haven't. Ain't like I haven't thought about it a whole lot though. And hey, thank god for you that I watch a lot of porn, huh." 

Buffy couldn't help but laugh at that. She slid her hands behind Faith's neck and pulled her down, kissing her nice and deep. Faith moaned into her mouth when Buffy's hands slid around the front of her shoulders and began a downward descent, but Buffy panicked when she felt the softness of Faith's breasts and quickly pulled her hands away. Faith pulled back and looked down at her, breathing hard. 

"You can touch me," she breathed, pleading with her eyes for Buffy to do just that. 

"I know," Buffy replied with a slight nod. "And I want to." 

"Don't be afraid." Faith leaned in and kissed her, sucking on her tongue before pulling back again and taking one of Buffy's hands in hers. "I'm gonna like anything that you do." 

She guided Buffy's hand between them until it was gently cupping one of her breasts. As unsure as Buffy felt about what she was doing and what came next, she was fairly certain she was on the right track when she gently flexed her fingertips and Faith groaned softly. 

"Just like that," Faith breathed. 

"But I wanna . . ." Buffy began, biting on her lower lip when Faith looked down at her with eyes so dark with desire that she lost herself in her gaze. 

"What?" Faith asked. 

Smiling a little bit more confidently now, Buffy slid her hand even lower, stopping when her fingertips reached the trimmed hair at the apex of Faith's thighs. Faith's breath caught in her throat and her hips jerked forward, then she grinned. 

"Go for it, girlfriend. You won't hear me complaining." 

"I better not. I'll be permanently scarred if my first lesbian experience is marred with complaints." 

"B?" 

"Uh-huh?" Suddenly Buffy quietly gasped and bit down on her bottom lip as Faith's fingers found their way between her legs as well. 

"You talk too much." 

And then those fingers struck up a rhythm and Buffy couldn't find any more words, at least not any that would make any sense in conversation. Besides, Faith was kissing her once again so those words probably would have been all mumbled and incoherent anyhow. 

For some awkward reason, her mind drifted back to her first – and only – time with Angel. It felt so long ago and like she'd been a different person then. There was tenderness and it hadn't been completely unenjoyable, but . . . it wasn't like this. While there had been some awkwardness then, there was none now. This seemed perfectly natural, their bodies moving in perfect synchronicity with one another as if they knew exactly what each other needed and when. 

Maybe it was a slayer thing; there was no doubt they shared some kind of connection as slayers. But for some reason, Buffy doubted that this was due to any slayerness. It was more about Faith; more about them. 

Buffy groaned softly as she felt a familiar tightening start to coil deep inside of her. She'd never been one to find release quickly or easily, but Faith seemed to be having no difficulties at all in bringing that out in her. 

"Faith," she breathed when Faith began to kiss over her jaw and neck, nipping and sucking as she went. Her free arm curled around Faith's back, her nails scraping gently against her skin. 

"Oh yeah, like that B." 

They were both breathing heavy now, Faith's hips meeting Buffy's hand thrust for thrust. She began moving more quickly, trying to find her own release. 

"Gonna come," the brunette breathed and Buffy felt her own body react. 

"I'm coming," she said, her voice hitching as her own orgasm hit, Faith's fingers moving over her quick and hard like she knew Buffy needed it that way just then. 

They gasped and clung to one another until Faith collapsed atop Buffy, their skin sweaty and hot. Buffy wrapped her arms around Faith and rubbed her hands up and down her back, feeling the rise and fall of her lungs every time she breathed. She was afraid that it was all going to end; that Faith would pull her famous get-some-get-gone and leave her laying there on the cabin floor while she went and took a shower. 

That never happened though. Instead they laid there for several minutes in silence, both girls slowly coming back down from their high. Faith finally moved off to Buffy's side but kept one of her legs between Buffy's and one arm draped over her breasts. 

"Never really been around long enough to know what happens next," Faith admitted, licking her lips as she looked down at Buffy, her head propped up on her hand. 

"Well," Buffy began nervously, trying to find a casual smile. "I'm not exactly an expert but often times there's snuggling." When Faith's face scrunched up in distaste, Buffy hurriedly continued. "Ice cream. Ritual eating of ice cream in bed is always a good thing." 

"We don't have any ice cream," Faith pointed out. 

"That's true," Buffy nodded. "I guess that leaves just one thing." 

"Please don't say snuggling." 

Grinning, Buffy rolled Faith onto her back and climbed onto her, her hair falling like a curtain around them. "Round two." 

And then Faith grinned too and leaned up to capture Buffy's lips in another kiss. 

* * *

After a walk to the lake the next morning to find the lost bracelet, they'd made their way up to the single spot of reception on the mountain to make the call to Giles to let him know about what had happened to Faith. The sex part would kindly be left out though. 

Buffy stumbled as she reached the rocky plateau that they'd become accustomed to visiting. Faith caught her before she could hurt herself and she blushed when she stood up straight and heard Faith laughing at her. 

"Be quiet," Buffy said as she walked past her and pulled the cell phone from her pocket, opening it up to check the signal. Faith walked up to her from behind and wrapped her arms around her, her hands immediately covering her breasts. Buffy grabbed them and moved them down to her stomach. "Nice try but I'm not going to let you publicly molest me just because we had sex one time." 

"Nine times," Faith whispered into her ear and Buffy could practically hear her grin. "And there ain't anyone around for miles to see us." 

"Regardless," Buffy said, pushing Faith's wandering hands down once again, "I have a call to make. Can you please contain yourself for five minutes?" 

"Five minutes? I can do five minutes." 

Faith stepped away and Buffy took a deep breath. She needed to focus. Dialing Giles' number, she brought the phone to hear ear and listened to the line ring over and over again until she received a message that the user was not available. Frowning, she dialed again only to receive the same response. 

"He's not answering," she said, her brow furrowed. 

Faith shrugged, "He's probably out buying tea or something. Call your Ma and check in at least." 

Nodding, Buffy dialed her mother's number and waited while the line rang. After a few moments, Joyce answered sounding anxious. 

"Mom?" 

_"Buffy! Is everything all right, honey? Is Faith all right?"_

"Yeah, yes. We're fine." 

_"No, something had to have happened. What's going on there, Buffy?"_

"Well, we're okay now, but you're right, something did happen. Faith and I got too far from each other last night and her bracelet came off . . . it sounds horrible, and it was, but you can take pride in knowing that those Red Cross courses you signed me up for came in handy." 

_"Oh, honey,"_ Joyce said, sounding more relieved now, _"I'm so happy she's okay. You're taking care of her?"_

Buffy glanced over to Faith and met her gaze, unable to keep the corner of her lips from curling up in a tiny smile. "Yeah, I am, Mom." Suddenly she realized something. "Wait, how did you know something happened?" 

Joyce chuckled with exasperation. _"You're not the only one who's having an interesting time, honey. This morning some men from the council showed up at our door . . ."_

"What?" Buffy practically shouted. 

_"They showed up here just an hour ago. And boy oh boy, did they have some interesting things to tell me. Buffy, I don't know exactly how to tell you this, but they seem to think that Dawn is now the slayer."_

Frowning, Buffy asked, "Who's Dawn?"


	23. Twenty-Three

Buffy picked her brain, trying to figure out who her mother could be talking about. There was a girl at school named Dawn but Joyce had never met her. The real estate agent who'd sold them their house was named Dawn, but she was like sixty and way too geriatric to be a slayer.

_"Buffy, don't be silly. This is a very scary time for me! First you're the slayer and now your sister is? I don't think I can handle this."_

Suddenly Buffy froze, her brow furrowing impossibly more. Someone had to be playing some kind of a trick on her. A terrible, confusing trick that would result in asses getting kicked, for sure. 

"What are you talking about?" she asked. 

_"Your sister! The council showed up here with her watcher today and told me that they need to begin her training immediately."_

"I don't have a sister," Buffy replied slowly. 

_"Ha ha, Buffy. That was endearing when you were three and we brought her home from the hospital but the novelty has worn off."_

Buffy's eyes were filled with both concern and anger and when she looked over at Faith, she could see that the girl was paying keen attention to what was going on. She put her mouth over the mouthpiece and spoke quietly to her. 

"Something weird is going on. The council showed up at my house and tried to tell my mom that my little sister is the new slayer." 

"Damn. Guess I really did die then," Faith said, shaking her head slightly. Suddenly her brow furrowed as she realized something and she did a double-take. "Wait, you have a sister?" 

"No!" Buffy replied, frustrated. "Hence the ‘something weird is going on' part. They're up to something." 

"The council?" Faith asked and Buffy nodded. 

"The one and only. They couldn't find you so they did something. A spell, something; I don't know. But whatever they did, they messed up because you're still alive." 

"But now your mom thinks you have a baby sis and she let the enemy come prancing right into the middle of your living room," Faith stated rather than asked. 

Buffy could hear her mother calling her name down the phone line but she couldn't reply; not when she knew Joyce would just refute anything she had to say about the subject matter. Biting nervously on her lower lip, she made a decision. 

"I can't ask you to go back with me . . ." 

"You don't have to," Faith interrupted. "They killed me once already yet I live to see another day. We need to get back there and figure out what's goin' on, make sure your mom's safe." 

"It'll be risky. The mayor's still there and we're not sure what's going on with the council and whatever they're up to." 

While she wanted to get home as soon as possible, she didn't want to put Faith at risk in doing so. Especially after what they'd shared the night before. 

"If your mom's tellin' the truth, the council already has a new slayer so I shouldn't be their number one priority right now. Let's just get back. I'll deal with whatever shit gets thrown at me once we get there." 

Buffy held her gaze for a few moments and then nodded; they didn't really have much of a choice right now. Faith might not be entirely safe going back to Sunnydale but it was better than her staying in Montana alone; if another mystical attack occurred, no one would be able to save her if they were all in California. 

She moved her hand from the mouthpiece and interrupted her mother's frantic ramblings. 

"Mom, we're coming back. Please, just . . . call Giles. Tell him that something weird is going on and to start sniffing around. Don't let any council people in the house. In fact, close and lock the doors and windows. If you can get this Dawn person to stay on the other side of them, even better." 

_"Buffy Anne . . ."_ Joyce began warningly but Buffy cut her off. 

"Just be careful. I'll see you soon." 

She closed the small phone and took a deep breath, gazing out across the vast expanse before them. Faith's right hand clasped over her shoulder from behind but she could barely feel it; her entire body was going numb at the thought of some interloper squatting in her house and pretending to be her sister. 

Giles wasn't kidding; the council really did seem to have some serious mojo up its sleeve, and they would need it when she got back there and figured out exactly what was going on. No way would she let them get away with nearly killing Faith and with using magic against her mother. It was time that they learned that they couldn't just do that to people. 

After several tense minutes, Faith finally spoke. 

"You just gonna stand there and do the angry staring thing all day or are we gonna head back and pack our shit up so that we can get gone?" 

Buffy turned and looked at her, holding her gaze for a few seconds. She was angry, she was confused, and most of all, she was scared. If something bad happened to her mom . . . she didn't think she'd ever be able to forgive herself. The council had once again gone one step too far . . . and she wasn't going to stand for it anymore. 

"Let's go." 

* * *

Their flight back to California was just as tense as their first plane ride together but that had less to do with Faith's nerves and more with their combined concern for what was going on back in Sunnydale. They'd packed up only what they'd come with and left the rest behind for Charlie and Sue, thanking them for their kindness – and for the ride to the airport. 

The drink cart approached and Buffy looked up at the flight attendant, startled out of her thoughts. 

"Beverage, ladies?" 

Faith and Buffy looked at one another and then back to the flight attendant. 

"Whiskey," Faith replied. 

"Make that two," Buffy said. 

"Sure," the flight attendant said pleasantly. "ID, please?" 

Faith sighed and looked out the window. "Pepsi." 

"Make that two," Buffy repeated dejectedly, following Faith's gaze out the window. 

The flight attendant filled two clear plastic glasses for them and left them on their trays before moving on to the next row of people. Buffy took a sip from the cup and then set it down on the tray table so she could rest her head back and close her weary eyes. It wasn't long before she could feel someone looking at her and when she opened her eyes, Faith was doing just that. 

"I can feel the tension coming offa you in waves," Faith said. 

"Nothing like a nice cold Pepsi to settle ones nerves," Buffy said sarcastically and took another sip from her cup. 

Faith frowned and did the same, then began to look around the small plane cabin. After a few seconds her eyes lit up and she grinned a little. "Think I found a way I can help with the tension." 

"If you ask me to meet you in the bathroom in two minutes to join the mile high club, the answer is no," Buffy preempted her and Faith instantly deflated. 

Sinking down lower into her seat, Faith took another sip of her Pepsi and sighed. "Then I'm outta ideas." 

Buffy couldn't help but chuckle at Faith's sudden downheartedness. She reached over and put her hand on Faith's thigh, squeezing gently. "It's not that I don't want to. There's . . . a whole lot of want there, in fact," she explained, choosing her words carefully. 

"I get it," Faith said with a slight nod. "Not the right time." 

"Not really, no," Buffy replied, smiling sadly. "Settle for a rain check?" 

Faith thought about it for a moment and shrugged. "Sure, whatever. If you really think Giles'll spring for airfare again just so we can get our naughty on, I'm down." 

Buffy opened her mouth to reply but the sound of the Captain on the speaker announcing their descent was enough to make Faith sit up straight in a panic. While the brunette fiddled with her seatbelt and pulled it tighter than was possibly comfortable, Buffy made sure her own belt was fastened and gathered Faith's nearly-empty plastic glass up together with hers. 

"I'll tell you everything'll be fine if you tell me everything's gonna be fine," Faith said, resting her head back against the headrest as the flight attendant leaned over to take away their glasses. 

"But do you mean it?" Buffy asked, making Faith open her eyes and look over with an eyebrow raised. "Do you really think everything's going to be okay?" 

Faith reached over and interlaced her fingers through Buffy's, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. 

"Gonna be five by five, B. You and me on the same team again? Nothin' or nobody can stop us." 

"And this supposed ‘sister' of mine that's the new slayer?" 

This time Faith grinned. "If she's as green as I was when I met ya, you'll be able to kick her ass no problem." 

Buffy couldn't help but smile a little despite her remaining unease. "Thanks, Faith." 

"No problem," Faith replied. "Now tell me we ain't gonna crash or I'm takin' it all back." 

Shaking her head, Buffy squeezed Faith's hand and chuckled. "We're gonna be just fine." 

* * *

The taxi driver pulled over on Revello Drive just in front of Buffy's house and came to a slow stop. He put the car in park and hopped out to help Faith with the bags from the trunk but Buffy stayed where she was in the back seat, staring at her house through the closed window. It looked exactly the same with the exception of a bike that was definitely not hers resting against the front porch and a new pair of curtains on the spare bedroom window upstairs. She could vaguely make out the shape of someone standing just beyond the window and watching her; it made her skin crawl. 

There was some _stranger_ in there pretending to be her little sister. Just the very thought of it made her shudder and she took a deep breath, finally making her way out of the car. Faith already had all of the bags in her arms and was waiting for Buffy to lead the way. 

"Think it's wise for me to go in there?" Faith asked, her gaze locked on the figure in the upstairs window. 

"It's probably not wise for either of us to be in there without knowing who that is or what she thinks she's doing," Buffy said, staring up at the window as well. "But my mom is even less safe, so . . . into the belly of the beast we go." 

Buffy moved to take a step down the concrete walkway but stopped when she felt Faith's hand on her arm. 

"Not exactly what I meant," Faith said quietly. "Your ma . . . you really think she wants me here?" 

"She's always liked you Faith. When I told her I was off to find and help you, I had her support. When I told her we were off to the middle of nowhere together, I had her support. That room up there?" Buffy pointed to the spare room and when they looked up, the figure standing there quickly stepped back and out of sight, "It's supposed to be yours now. She's always wanted you there." 

"And you?" Faith asked. 

Buffy took a deep breath and met Faith's gaze, holding it through the several seconds of silence that fell between them as Faith waited for her answer. 

"I want you in there too," Buffy finally admitted. What that meant for the two of them she wasn't sure, and honestly, it wasn't really the time to get into it. 

"Then I guess we better get in there and evict the impostor, huh." 

Giving Faith a thankful look for not pushing it any further, she nodded and led the way up the short walkway, her gaze fixed on the front door the entire time. When it swung open as she reached the top of the porch steps, she fell into fighting stance and waited for the attack to come. 

The only thing that came, however, was a huge hug from her mother which nearly sent them flying backwards off of the porch. If not for Faith standing behind her, she would have been horizontal on the ground below. 

"Oh Buffy, I'm so happy you're home!" Joyce said, her arms still wrapped tightly around her daughter. "We've been so worried about you." 

"I'm happy to _be_ home, Mom," Buffy said, patting Joyce's back gently while simultaneously trying to peek over her shoulder and into the house. "We both are." 

As if suddenly remembering the reason for Buffy's absence, Joyce pulled back and looked at Faith, then pulled her into a hug as well. Faith couldn't quite hug back with the bags still in her arms but she let herself be hugged, her eyes wide as she looked at Buffy over Joyce's shoulder. 

"Faith, honey, I'm so glad that you're okay. Buffy told me what happened; I can't believe the council would do something like that to you! I know Buffy has had some problems with them in the past but they've been nothing but pleasant since they arrived." 

"Imagine that," Faith said, still looking at Buffy. When Joyce pulled back, Faith put on a fake smile and tried to be pleasant. "I'm just happy B was there to save me." 

"We all are," Joyce replied with a nod. "Dawn knew something bad had happened before anyone else did. I don't know how this slayer stuff works and I'm not sure I want the insider details, but she felt something come over her. Then the council showed up and she knew exactly what had happened to her and that something terrible must have happened to you for that to happen. Lots of happening; too much for just one mother to handle, I think." 

Buffy reached out and put her hand on Joyce's shoulder, grasping it gently. Joyce looked over at her and gave her a tired smile. 

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that on your own," Buffy said. 

"Luckily I wasn't _completely_ alone," Joyce admitted. "Giles has been wonderful, trying to be a liaison for us with the council while counseling Dawn on her new . . . slayerness, I guess. He just left a little while ago. Willow and Xander have been great, too. They're upstairs with her now. They've been here since you called this morning." 

"They're alone with _her_?" Buffy asked incredulously, a wave of fear hitting her. If Willow and Xander were alone with that thing upstairs and they weren't frightened out of their pants, that had to mean that they were under some kind of a spell as well. Giles too, for that matter. 

And that _thing_ could be doing all kinds of evil things to them in the absence of prying eyes! 

When Joyce furrowed her brow in confusion and nodded, Buffy charged past her and ran up the stairs, heading toward what she knew was supposed to be the spare bedroom. Her footsteps echoed loudly through the halls – along with Faith and Joyce's as they ran up after her – and Willow and Xander were already standing alert when Buffy reached the doorway. They looked slightly panicked which threw Buffy into a complete protective rage. She blew past them, ignoring their protests, and grabbed the unfamiliar brunette by her shirt, tossing her against the wall. The young girl looked both surprised and angry and Buffy stepped in close, keeping her trapped there with her forearm against her chest. 

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" Buffy asked, slowly enunciating each word. 

"You are seriously violating my territorial bubble," the girl grunted as she tried to wriggle free. Buffy pressed harder against her, slamming her back into the wall once again. 

"Buffy!" Joyce and Willow cried aloud when they heard the impact of the brunette's body smashing against the wall again. 

"I asked you a question," Buffy said through clenched teeth. 

"Hey Buff," Xander tried, awkwardly stepping up to her side despite his obvious fear. "Maybe you can let up on the angry slayer routine and put your sister down for a bit. You're scaring everyone." 

Buffy looked down and saw that she was indeed holding the girl up about an inch off the floor. The drywall behind her creaked with the pressure with which Buffy was holding her against it. 

"She's not my sister!" she yelled, staring into the girl's eyes once again. "And you guys are obviously under the spell too!" 

"Spell? Buffy, there's no spell!" Joyce tried, panic in her voice despite her attempt at being calm. "Dawn is _your sister_. She always has been and always will be. The two of you may not always get along but you love each other and you have to stop acting like this! You might hurt her." 

"Everyone seems to be forgetting something," Dawn grunted. "I'm a slayer now too." 

A dangerous look crossed her face and the corner of her lips tugged up in a little smirk. Suddenly she leaned to the side and when she straightened up, she brought her elbow back hard and slammed Buffy against the side of the head. 

Buffy dropped Dawn and staggered back, her hand instantly clutching her temple where a bruise was sure to form. Her head was swimming and she shook it lightly, trying to get her bearings once again. That hadn't been a hit by some punk teenage girl. 

That was a hit from a slayer. 

Maybe Dawn was indeed the new slayer, but Buffy still knew one thing for certain: she sure as hell wasn't her sister, and she sure as hell didn't belong in _her_ house with _her_ mother and _her_ friends. Growling deep in her throat, she reared back and prepared to pounce. Dawn dropped into a fighting stance – sloppy and untrained – and Buffy couldn't _wait_ to see just how hard she could kick her ass before she caved and told the truth about what was going on. 

She never got the chance though; a pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind and lifted her back and out of the room. She squirmed and struggled as she watched her mother and Willow run to the stranger's side, making sure that she was okay. Xander stepped out into the hall and followed along as Faith dragged Buffy back to her bedroom, kicking and screaming the entire time. His eyes were wide as he watched Buffy, obviously unaccustomed to seeing her this way. 

Faith tossed Buffy into the room and when Buffy tried to run out, Faith blocked her way and looked into her eyes. 

"B, stop! Chill the fuck out for a minute." When Xander tried to step inside, Faith stopped him as well, acting as a door between him and Buffy. "Give us a few minutes, Xan. B needs some time to calm down." 

He looked at her warily and then over to Buffy, concern written across his face. "Are you sure she's okay?" 

"She will be," Faith answered for Buffy who was still huffing away and trying to get past her. "Think ya can grab her a glass of water and leave it outside the door while I have a little discussion with her?" 

Xander nodded, his gaze still focused on Buffy until he turned around and disappeared down the hall. Buffy heard Faith exhale loudly and then close the door when he was finally out of sight. The look that Faith gave her made Buffy back off and step back until she'd reached the edge of her bed. 

"I think we've got us an official problem here, B," Faith said wearily, running a hand through her hair. 

Buffy slowly sat down on the edge of her bed and sighed. "And that might be the understatement of the year."


	24. Twenty-Four

It wasn't Faith's style to pace which was why Buffy had taken up pacing duty when Faith had taken a seat next to her on the bed. Something weird was going on, they were both painfully aware of that much, but neither girl knew exactly how to proceed. Who could they turn to when everyone they could count on had been affected by whatever magic the council had used?

The situation seemed more dire now than when they'd first heard of it from atop a mountain hundreds of miles away. 

"Shit," Buffy muttered to herself. 

"What about your Dad?" Faith asked. "He's in Florida, right? Maybe the magic didn't reach that far." 

"Sure, I could call him. You know; if he was actually in Florida and I knew his number." 

"You mean he isn't?" 

"Nope. Haven't heard from him since my birthday and I won't hear from him again until Christmas." 

"And we probably can't wait around that long, huh." 

"Probably not," Buffy replied. She took a deep breath and stopped pacing long enough to massage her temples with her fingertips. "I have no idea what to do." 

"Yeah, I'm getting that," Faith said. She stood up from the bed and walked over until she was just in front of Buffy. "Listen, it's obviously you ‘n me against the world here, right? So as far as I see it, we've got three options. One – we get together with Giles and your buds, tell them what's up and ask them to help us look into it. They've seen enough crazy stuff in their lives to know that we might not be the crazy ones in this sitch. We've still got four days ‘til graduation so we're not exactly screwed yet. Two – we say fuck the research and storm the council. Bet they'll start talkin' pretty fast once we start hittin'em. Not a delicate approach but we ain't exactly got time to be gentle." 

"And what's the third option?" Buffy asked softly, not exactly sure that options one or two were the right one. 

Faith took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose. It looked like she was choosing her words carefully and Buffy braced herself for what was to come. 

"We take off the bracelets. They've gotta be what's protecting us from the magic that got everyone else, right?" At Buffy's wary nod, Faith continued. "It's kinda like that story about the king and the poisoned well." 

Buffy furrowed her brow in confusion. "I'm not really up to snuff on my parables." 

"No big, I've got this one. So basically there was this king that ruled over a big city. All the townspeople drank from this well in the middle of the town but the king didn't because, well . . . kings are too good to drink from wells or somethin' like that. Whatever. One night some dumbass poisoned the well and the entire town went like, batshit crazy. Only one that didn't was the king, but then everyone thought _he_ was crazy cos he was the only one not acting like everyone else. They wanted to dethrone him, kick his ass right the hell outta Crazyville, so the king did the only thing he could think of: he went on down and chugged himself a big ol' cup of crazy-water. After that, everyone was crazy and happy and no one knew the difference." 

Buffy listened to the story and instantly noticed the conviction with which Faith had told it. Faith had always had so much gusto and zest and Buffy instantly began to feel a knot grow in her stomach when she remembered how she'd never appreciated that before; how she'd dismissed Faith and her passion for everything around her and had written it off as annoying. 

And now, when she needed just a glimmer of hope in yet another dire situation in her life, Faith was there offering her just that with just as much zest as she'd come to Sunnydale with. Even after all that had happened to her, Faith still hadn't lost that. Faith was still _Faith_. 

Clinging to what she knew, Buffy leaned forward and took Faith by surprise, capturing her lips in a soft kiss. It didn't last long but Faith seemed to understand the sentiment. They stayed pressed together, Buffy's hands on Faith's neck and Faith's hands resting on her hips. When Faith tried to kiss her again Buffy moved so that their foreheads were pressed together, her lips just out of reach. 

"Thank you," Buffy breathed, closing her eyes and basking in the stress-free feeling for just a few seconds. 

"Shit, if I knew stories like that got ya going I woulda been makin' them up ages ago. Did ya ever hear the one about the goat and the bottle of gin?" 

Buffy chuckled and pulled back enough to see Faith smirking at her. Unable to resist, she leaned in and kissed Faith's smirk, pulling back once again before Faith had the opportunity to kiss her back. It was safer that way, especially seeing as that they had a houseful of scared and concerned people at the moment. 

"So what do ya think, B? Gotta be honest, option three is sounding pretty sweet right about now. No muss, no fuss, and we could take off these stupid bracelets. My wrist is chafing like a motherfucker." 

Despite the lightness in Faith's tone, Buffy could feel the stress start to creep back into her tired body. It wasn't a decision she wanted to make but she had to do something; hiding out in her bedroom until her fake sister went off to college hadn't been on Faith's list of options. 

"I can't do that," Buffy finally replied, shaking her head gently. "I know she's not my sister. I know something isn't right here. I can't just drink from the well and play happy family knowing what we do." 

Faith observed her carefully for a few moments before nodding. "Yeah, kinda figured ya wouldn't go along with that option. You're more of a bottled-water kind of girl." 

Chuckling half-heartedly, Buffy stepped away and went back to her bed, sitting down on it once again. She watched as Faith made her way over to the window and rested back against her desk, staring out into the already darkening sky. They'd been traveling most of the day and it didn't feel as late as it actually was. 

"We're gonna have to do a combo of one and two." 

"You make it sound like you're ordering Chinese," Faith said but Buffy continued on, undeterred. 

"The council won't be able to find you when we're together so we don't have to worry about that too much. So long as you stay out of sight you should be fine. We'll get together with Giles and the gang, pull an all-night research session. Hopefully he'll agree to do that here because no way am I leaving my mom alone with that girl again. Not sure where the council reps are staying or how I can confront them yet but . . . I'll figure it out. Am I the only one missing our secluded little cabin in the middle of nowhere?" 

She looked up when Faith didn't respond and found her staring intently outside, her jaw clenching tightly. 

"What is it?" Buffy asked. She stood up from the bed and joined Faith at the window, her eyes narrowing when she realized what Faith had been looking at. 

"Guess you're not gonna have to figure out how to find ‘em cos they're already here," Faith said, her voice low as she watched two men and one woman step out of a black sedan. "Hope ya got some kind of a plan, B, cos opportunity is about to knock on your door wearin' a fuckin ugly tweed suit." 

Stepping slowly away from the window and heading toward the door, Buffy turned back toward Faith and muttered, "Stay in here." She made sure to catch Faith's gaze and hold it for just long enough before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her. Instead of running down the steps, she walked down the hall to the spare bedroom where everyone was still fawning over her fake-sister. 

"Looks like your friends are here," she said, focused on Dawn. "Shall I go and tell them they're not welcome or did you want to?" 

"Buffy, your behavior isn't . . ." Joyce began but Dawn stood up from the bed and crossed her arms over her chest, looking defiantly over at Buffy. 

"They're not my friends. You think I _want_ to be a slayer?" she asked Buffy. "As if. Your life stinks almost as bad as you do when you get home from slaying. I'd like mine to be full of shopping and friends, not monsters and knives, thank you very much." 

Buffy mimicked her posture, crossing her arms over her chest, and plastered on a fake smile. 

"Excellent. Then I'll just go and tell them to get the hell out of my house and out of my town. You're welcome to join them if you like." Ignoring the glare Dawn gave her, Buffy looked at everyone else in the room. "Not a word about Faith. You haven't seen her and you have no idea where she is." 

Getting no arguments from her friends or mother, Buffy turned around and made her way downstairs just in time for the doorbell to ring. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself and opened up the door, smiling at the surprised look on the faces of the people standing there. 

"You're . . ." one of the men began and stuttered, his eyes wide. 

"I'm Buffy -- the vampire slayer. And you've gone too far this time. You're not welcome here, for me _or_ for the snoop you planted into my life with your magic. I'd highly suggest that you leave my house – and possibly the town – before I show you the true definition of what a slayer really is." 

The woman and two men looked at one another and then back at Buffy, trying to smile through their fear. It was the woman who eventually spoke up, trying an obviously gentle approach. 

"Miss Summers, the council appreciates all of the good you've done while the active slayer and beyond. You've outlasted your calling and have been granted the retirement that you've quietly longed for. We assumed you'd be happy about the newest developments." 

"Newest developments?" Buffy asked incredulously. "You mean how you guys magically killed Faith so you could get a new slayer? Or maybe you mean how you used magic to trick everyone I know into believing that the new slayer is my sister." 

"So you've been in touch with Miss Lehane?" one of the men asked but quickly shut up when the woman elbowed him in the ribs as discreetly as she could. 

"We've been trying to track Miss Lehane – Faith – so that we can rehabilitate her," the woman tried to cover but Buffy already knew the truth. Clenching her fists, she took a step closer, which made all three of them take two steps back. 

"Ah, so you rehabilitate _after_ your assassins fail. A bit unorthodox if you ask me, but what do I know? I'm last year's girl." Immediately all three council members spluttered and blanched but Buffy wouldn't let them interrupt her. "Save it. I know about your assassins, I know about the magic you used to kill Faith – nice try, by the way, but she's still alive and holding a major grudge – and whatever magic you used to squeeze the new slayer into my life hasn't worked on me." 

"Buffy . . ." 

"That's Miss Summers to you!" Buffy snapped, her anger taking over. "My _mother_ is upstairs trying to protect who she thinks is my sister. I don't know why you planted her into my life or what the grand purpose was, but whatever it is, I _will_ find out and I _will_ do what I have to do to make things right. Now tell me why you're here so that you can leave." 

"Training, Miss Summers," one of the men explained. "We've come to collect your sister," when Buffy's eyes narrowed at him he quickly corrected, " _Dawn_ , for her first evening of training." 

Buffy chuckled with disbelief. "You seriously think I'm going to just let you come in here, take her away and train her to be a better killer so she can come back and carry out your evil scheme? I don't think so." 

"I'm afraid you don't have much say in the matter," the woman said stiffly. 

The glare that Buffy gave sent both the woman and her companions back two steps more until the two men reached the wooden stairs and had to back down them to avoid falling. 

"I'd love to see how you plan on getting past me," Buffy said, crossing her arms over her chest. "But you know what? I'm feeling pretty gracious right now so I'm going to do you a favor; not that the council has ever done any for me, but I digress. _I'll_ be the one taking her out to train. You don't like it? Make whatever magic you cast go away and get a different playtoy." 

"Miss Summers, this is highly unorthodox," the woman began and Buffy cut her off with a bright smile. 

"I know, right? Maybe the good old council will think twice the next time they consider messing with me or anyone I know." 

"A report will have to be made to Mr. Travers . . ." 

Buffy surged forward, making the lady back down the steps as well. 

"You take that report and shove it right up his . . ." 

"Buffy!" came a voice from behind her and she spun around to see Joyce standing there looking just as surprised – and scared – as the watchers were. "What's going on out here?" 

"Oh, nothing," Buffy said, plastering on her fake smile yet again, her tone sickeningly sweet. "I was just explaining that I'll be the one training . . . _Dawn_." It took everything she had not to cringe when she said her name. "Their services aren't required at this time." 

"Oh," Joyce said, seeming a bit surprised and confused. "I wasn't aware that was an option." 

One of the men opened his mouth to intervene but Buffy sent him a glare that her mother couldn't see before turning to face Joyce. "It is now." 

"Well that's . . . good," Joyce said after looking warily at Buffy for a few seconds. "It's about time that you two start getting along. I was afraid that I was going to have to kennel the both of you." 

"I won't be requiring a kennel," Buffy said pleasantly but said nothing of Dawn. 

"I'll go and tell Dawn to get ready. She'll be so excited!" Joyce gave Buffy's shoulder a squeeze and then excused herself, hurrying up the stairs to Dawn's room. 

Waiting until she was out of sight, Buffy finally turned around and faced the council members again. They looked none too pleased and made no effort to hide it. It made her smile even bigger and much more real. 

"You're not being reasonable," one of the men said and Buffy pretended to look thoughtful. 

"Hmm, let's see here." She held out her hand and started ticking away on her fingers as she went. "You sent assassins after Faith. You told them to kill me and anyone else who got in the way if needed. You used magic to kill her and call a new slayer, then used magic to implant that slayer into my life." She held up her three fingers. "That's three strikes out. I'd say the time for reason is over. The biggest mistake you could have made was stick Dawn in my life because now that she's here? I'm not letting you anywhere near her, or near anyone else I know for that matter. If she's a spy, I'll figure it out. We'll trace the magic and reverse it. Until then? Run along, little doggies. And tell Mr. Travers that Buffy said hey." 

Lowering two more fingers down so that only one was left up, Buffy held it out to them and waved it around, smiling at their quiet outrage. Without any more ado, she walked back into the house and slammed the door behind herself, then leaned up against it. She heard them murmuring quietly before they eventually retreated down the concrete path and drove away in their black sedan. She wasn't sure where they were going or if they'd be back – strike that, they'd definitely be back – but she couldn't worry about that now. Her main problem at that very second was the stranger upstairs with her mom and friends and the girl hiding out in her bedroom. 

Oh yeah, and the mayor. 

Closing her eyes, Buffy took another deep breath and steeled herself. 

Four days. They had four days to figure that out on top of everything else that was going on. 

She was sure starting to wish that slayers had some Superman-type flying powers so that she could fly around the earth and take things back to a time when she could set things right and avoid all of this. Fate, it seemed, had other plans for her though. 

* * *

The chamber was dark like always, the only light that of a few white wax candles flickering in the cool draft. Two sisters lay prone on the stone ground, twitching as they looked up into the cloud-like ether that drifted above them. The third sister, Euphemia, sat on a stone slab, smoking a wooden pipe and exhaling the smoke so that it joined the mystical cloud above her sisters. She didn't join them in their conversation but paid keen attention to what they were discussing. 

"They have met," Syntyche said. 

"They will fight," Hypatia replied, staring deeply into the ether. 

"Time will tell if they will be strong enough." 

"Their first test shall define their fate." 

"And ours." 

"And the world's, as we know it." 

"Oh, shut up!" Syntyche spat uncharacteristically, jerkily sitting up from her prone position. "We've been in this hole in the ground for seven hundred years! We don't know the world at all anymore!" 

"You shut up," Hypatia replied embarrassedly, rolling over onto her side. 

"No, you shut up!" 

"You shut up!" 

" _How about the both of you shut up!_ " Euphemia said using her mind-speak. 

All three sisters turned away from one another and grumbled. 

There were some days when the chamber felt smaller than it really was. 

* * *

Buffy made her way up the stairs and sneaked into her bedroom before her mother or Dawn could stop her. She found Faith lying back on her bed, resting with her feet kicked up and her hands underneath her head. Her shirt was riding up a little bit, just enough to reveal a thin slice of tanned skin. It looked perfect and inviting, but she couldn't give in to temptation now; not when she had so many other things she needed to focus on. 

Staying in that cabin and having no responsibilities really gave her a taste for the easy life. Unfortunately for her, it was all just a bit too far out of reach at the moment. 

"They gone?" Faith asked. 

"For now," Buffy said without explaining any further. "They came to take little sister out training. I told them that since they stuck her in here, she's my territory now." 

"Meaning?" Faith asked, her eyebrows raised. 

Buffy smirked. "Get changed. We're taking the newbie out on her very first patrol. I'm thinking it's time for little sis to learn a few slaying lessons the hard way." 

Shaking her head and chuckling quietly, Faith got up from the bed and headed for the door so that she could go downstairs and fetch their bags. 

"Anyone ever tell you you're kinda hot when you're vicious?" Faith asked, then opened the door and looked at Buffy over her shoulder. "Scary, but hot nonetheless." 

Winking, she disappeared down the stairs leaving Buffy looking at her own reflection in the mirror on the back of the door. Smiling proudly, she fixed her tussled hair and then began to rummage through her dresser for something to wear. She needed to find something dark-colored and sexy because, really, scary girls couldn't get away with wearing pink. 

Not when she needed to give Dawn a good scare.


	25. Twenty-Five

Buffy was resting back against a large headstone picking bits of dust and debris out from under her fingernails with a small metal nail file. She couldn't keep the smirk from her lips no matter how much she tried, but honestly, she wasn't trying much. Hiding her amusement at the current situation wasn't one of her top priorities.

"Oh shoot, I chipped a nail," she said, holding her hand out away from her body and studying it in the moonlight. 

"Poor baby. Want me to call an ambulance?" 

Buffy looked over to her side where Faith was sitting on a large rectangular tomb, her legs dangling off the edge and swaying gently. Even with the knit cap on her head that she'd put on to hide her identity as much as possible, Buffy could see that she was smirking at her. 

"I don't think I'm the one who needs it," she replied. 

Both grinning now, they turned their heads toward the direction where a soft groan was coming from. Dawn lay just about fifteen feet away from them, flat on her back and trying to catch her breath. She was covered in sweat, dirt, and fresh bruises and was wheezing every time she took a breath. 

"That's okay . . . Continue ignoring me," Dawn wheezed. "I'll just lay here . . . until my ribs pop back out . . . and stop squeezing my lungs to death." 

"You know that vamps don't usually allow for time-outs, right?" Buffy asked. 

"No, they'd at least have the common courtesy to put me out of my misery after the first few rounds," Dawn replied. She grunted with effort as she moved into a sitting position, her hands planted firmly on the ground just behind her so she could rest back on them. 

"Hey, if you can't hack it as a slayer, you may as well pack up your stuff and head back to England with your merry bunch of shady Council friends," Buffy said smugly. 

"I can hack it," Dawn replied, plopping back onto the ground. "I just need some time to adjust." 

"Time to adjust?" Faith asked incredulously and hopped down from the tomb to walk slowly toward Dawn. Buffy watched with a little grin. "Slayers don't get time to adjust. You get called and you're tossed right into the game. Lives depend on you." 

"Well lucky for me they can depend on you and my abusive sister until I'm good and ready." 

Faith stopped and looked at Dawn, then chuckled slightly as she continued to approach her. "I don't think you're quite understanding me." 

She stopped just beside Dawn and smiled at her . . . then lifted her knee and drove her foot down so hard that it would have broken bones had Dawn not rolled out of the way just in time. Dawn groaned loudly as she came to rest on her stomach just two feet away, obviously in quite a bit of discomfort. 

"What I was trying to say," Faith continued, "is eat some concrete and toughen the fuck up, princess. Your sister – or whatever the hell she is to you – is gonna teach you everything you need to survive and kick some ass. She might not trust you much right now – and honestly, my trust don't come easy either – but I sure as shit don't wanna see you end up as vamp chow your first week on the job." 

Buffy watched as Dawn struggled to stand up, biting back her anger and pain as much as she could. She swayed once she got to her feet and stayed hunched over, her right arm hugging her ribs tight. 

"She _is_ my sister," Dawn ground out. "I don't know why the both of you are playing this game but it's _so_ not funny anymore." 

"It's not fun for me either," Buffy chimed in, pushing off of the headstone and slowly walking over. "When I left Sunnydale just over a week ago I was a single child. It was a good living situation. I was happy. Then I come back to find that suddenly I have a fifteen year old sister and that everyone remembers her but Faith and I. Don't you find that just a little bit weird, _Dawn_?" 

As much as Buffy tried, she was unable to keep the contempt from her voice when she said Dawn's name. 

"Why do you keep saying my name like that?" Dawn asked, her jaw clenched and fingers flexing into fists. "I'm sorry that you have some kind of weird travelers amnesia but that's _your_ problem, Buffy. I've been here all along. Mom is my mom. You're my sister, even though you tried to put me up for adoption when I was four and seven. And ten. Faith plays video games with me when you're too busy to acknowledge my existence and I had a crush on Xander up until junior high." 

"Eww," Buffy said, grimacing at that last bit of information. Eventually she was able to shake it off and continue. "All of that? Could've been fed to you by the Council. They know everything about my life. For all I know they plucked you out of somewhere, trained you in spying, and gave you a textbook to study about my life." 

"I'm not a spy!" Dawn yelled, frustrated. "I'm your sister! You used to lock me in the closet and tell me that mom loved you more. I was there through every fight mom and dad had and I cried when we had to leave LA because YOU started the school gym on fire. I remember sitting on the couch with you and mom and eating ice cream until we thought we were going to burst, all because we missed dad. I remember it all, Buffy, so why don't you?" 

Tears shone in her eyes and for just a split second Buffy felt an ounce of regret. Still . . . 

"I remember all of that," Buffy said quietly. "Just without you." 

They held each other's gaze for a few moments and then Dawn sighed and sat back down on the ground. She laid back and closed her eyes, her arm still clutching her ribs. Buffy figured she was done trying to argue the point with her – it was moot; they both saw things differently – but Dawn continued after a moment. 

"Giles and Willow gave you and Faith those bracelets to protect you from magic. Maybe they messed with your head instead." 

"Or maybe they protected us from the magic that affected everyone else," Buffy offered. 

Dawn shrugged as much as she could while lying down and winced in pain. "Only way to figure that out is to take them off. Besides, they _totally_ clash with your outfits." 

Shaking her head slightly, Buffy looked down at the bracelet on her wrist – Dawn was right, it did clash – and began idly playing with it. 

"Sorry, no can do. Until I'm sure that everything is safe, it's staying on. I can't drink from the well and be one of the loons when the Mayor is about to turn Sunnydale into a Chernobyl of evilness and the council is looming so close by." 

Dawn cracked one of her eyes open and looked up at Buffy. "I didn't even understand half of that. God, you're so weird." 

"Yeah, I'm the weird one," Buffy commented, crossing her arms over her chest. "Says the girl voluntarily lying on the freshly filled-in grave with earthworms in her hair." 

And if they hadn't scared Dawn with extreme training, that had certainly put a good scare into her. The girl practically leapt up from the ground and began running around and shaking her head with more enthusiasm than she'd shown while training. Buffy and Faith grinned as they watched her run around bellowing in horror and disgust. 

"Now that was a big sister move if I ever saw one," Faith laughed. 

Buffy smiled, "Magic or not, I might learn to like this whole sibling deal after all." 

* * *

It was nearly an hour later when Buffy and Faith walked into the back door of the house, followed shortly thereafter by a limping Dawn. Joyce was still awake and sitting at the breakfast bar with a book in one hand and a mug of tea steaming away just in front of her. She looked up and smiled at Buffy and Faith but her smile instantly fell away when she saw the state that Dawn was in. 

"Oh Dawn, what happened? Did you have to slay on your very first night of training?" she asked as she jumped up from her stool and hurried over to check her out. 

Dawn hissed with pain when Joyce laid her hand on her shoulder and Joyce quickly pulled away, wincing in sympathy. Buffy rolled her eyes at that; she never got that much sympathy when she came home dirty and bruised and battered. In fact, she was usually told to get undressed on the back porch so that she wouldn't track the dirt inside! 

Just great. Her mother was already favoring her fake-sister and it had only been one day! 

Magic was so unfair. 

"Buffy happened," Dawn said, crossing her arms gingerly over her chest and staring defiantly at Buffy now that she had her motherly bodyguard. 

Joyce looked disapprovingly at Buffy, then went back to fussing over Dawn. 

"Buffy Anne, I expected you to look after your sister." 

"I would have, if she was my sister," Buffy replied easily, snacking on a carrot stick that she'd taken from the refrigerator. 

"Had I known you were going to be so difficult and cruel I would have let her go with her watcher. I called Mr. Giles for advice and he said that I should let you work through this on your own time but I don't think I can handle much more sibling rivalry." 

"It's not sibling rivalry," Buffy said, slightly taken aback by her mother's anger. "Mom, you don't understand." 

"Then help me understand, Buffy," Joyce said pleadingly, turning to face Buffy. 

Buffy opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it, shaking her head as she tried to make some sense of things. Nothing made sense though; no one could see things her way except for Faith. It was them against the world. They were the only ones who hadn't drank from the well and now everyone thought they were the crazy ones. 

"I can't," Buffy said, looking up to meet Joyce's gaze. "Something happened while Faith and I were gone. No one knows what we know and there's no way to convince any of you otherwise. I think maybe . . ." she paused, "maybe I need to go and speak with Giles and Willow. They can help me look into this." 

"It's after midnight. Can it wait until morning, honey? I think we all need a good night's sleep; a fresh start in the morning. I'll call Mr. Giles and ask him to stop by first thing with Willow." 

"Fine," Buffy said quietly. "Faith can't go back to her place, though. It's not safe." 

Joyce looked over to Faith and smiled. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you'd like, Faith. You'll have to share a room with Buffy or Dawn until we can set up something more permanent but I don't think that's a prob--" 

"She's not staying with me!" Dawn said quickly. When everyone looked over at her, she huffed and limped over to the freezer. Rather than grabbing a snack, she grabbed an ice pack and hobbled out of the room before anyone could stop her. 

"I feel so welcome," Faith joked and Joyce put her hand on her arm, patting it reassuringly. 

"You are. Dawn's just upset." 

"I'd be too if I had worms in my hair," Faith replied, smirking at Buffy. "Mind if I grab a shower before bed? I feel wicked grimy." 

Joyce happily welcomed Faith to do so and Buffy nodded, "I'll meet you upstairs." 

Faith headed for the stairs, leaving Joyce and Buffy alone in the kitchen. Buffy felt famished and quickly began working on her second carrot stick but it just didn't seem to be cutting it. Joyce must have noticed because she smiled despite her earlier frustration and opened the refrigerator. 

"There are eggs and fresh veggies. I can make you an omelet if you'd like." 

Buffy smiled and shook her head. "I appreciate the offer but it's late. You should go to bed. I'll just . . ." she indicated the carrot and continued to munch. 

Nodding, Joyce leaned in and gave her a short hug before heading for the stairs as well. Buffy stood and watched her go, then leaned against the breakfast bar and relaxed once she was all alone. Her body was tired, her mind was tired, but she was still charged up from their night of training. Usually she was able to repress her more primal urges that resulted from slaying. She'd have some carrots, a bath, and sleep it off. 

But when she heard the shower turn on above her and realized that Faith was probably in it right now – and very naked – she couldn't help but grin a little. Having Faith around like this could be very beneficial to the both of them. 

Grabbing one more carrot stick for the way up, she turned off the kitchen light and headed up the stairs, a sneaky smile on her face the entire way. When she reached the second floor she saw that all of the doors were closed which was a good sign; they'd have to be quiet, but with her mother and Dawn sleeping, the chances of them getting caught were slim to none. 

A risk she suddenly found herself willing to take. 

Yep, Faith was definitely having a bad effect on her. 

Ignoring the fact that she still didn't know what was going on between them or where exactly they stood, she tiptoed down the hall until she stood in front of the closed bathroom door. She thought about knocking but didn't want to alert her mom and Dawn to her presence. Instead, she quietly turned the doorknob and sneaked inside, closing it gently behind her. She could make out Faith's silhouette behind the shower curtain and began stripping down so that she could join her. 

When she was completely naked she crept over to the curtain and pulled it back, only to find a very naked Dawn staring back at her in horror. 

"Get out of here, you creeper!" Dawn yelled, pulling the shower curtain immediately over her naked body. 

Buffy was left completely exposed though and had to run around the room picking up her scattered pieces of clothing to hold over herself. Dawn continued to yell at her and Buffy continued to turn red, unable to believe that had happened to her. Dawn probably wasn't her sister but that still didn't mean it was okay to see her nipples! 

Quickly leaving the bathroom and hurrying down the hall, Buffy let herself into her room and rested back against the door, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment. They only reddened further though when she opened her eyes to find Faith laying back on her bed with her arms folded under her head and an amused look upon her face. 

"Not the worst way to greet someone, I'll tell ya that," Faith said with a grin as Buffy scrabbled to get her shirt on. 

"Why aren't you in the shower?" Buffy whispered harshly. 

"Cos the brat beat me to it," Faith replied with a shrug. 

"You're older, faster and stronger! There was no reason for her to beat you!" 

"It ain't my house, B." Faith furrowed her brow. "What the hell got your panties in such a twist?" 

"I saw my fake-sister's nipples!" 

"What?" Faith asked loudly, sitting up with a huge smile on her face. 

"I saw Dawn in the shower. Naked!" 

"Creeper," Faith taunted. 

"I'm not a creeper!" Buffy replied indignantly. "I thought _you_ were in there!" 

Faith thought about it for a second and smiled even more. "And you were gonna join me?" When Buffy didn't say anything, Faith continued. "Ain't no thing, B. We can go in there when she's done. I'll even let you creep up on me if you want." 

"Ugh," Buffy grunted distastefully. "The moment is over. I'm never gonna be able to get the image of her . . ." 

Her voice trailed off when Faith took a step back and casually lifted up her shirt and bra, revealing her full breasts to Buffy. Buffy couldn't seem to look away but forced herself to anyhow, finally managing to glance up to Faith's eyes despite the gravitational pull of her . . . globes. 

"Better?" Faith asked, slowly lowering her shirt after a few moments. 

She didn't get very far though because Buffy's hands were suddenly on the hem of her shirt, keeping it right where it was mid-way down her stomach. Faith looked questioningly at her and Buffy leaned in, chasing all of her questions away with the soft touch of her lips. It didn't take long for the soft touch to turn into a raging fire, burning brightly as hands started to wander and bodies moved closer together. 

Buffy took the lead even though she was sure Faith would turn that around at the first given opportunity. She decided not to give Faith that opportunity though and when she pulled Faith's shirt up and over her head, she trapped her arms in the cotton tee and kept them behind her back so that Faith couldn't use her hands. 

Faith grinned against her lips and pulled back to look into Buffy's eyes. 

"Not that I mind a little bit of kink but it ain't fun for me if you don't get naked too, B." 

Buffy put her hand on Faith's chest and gave her a little push so that the brunette fell back onto the bed. She was about to join her but suddenly remembered something. Before removing her own shirt, Buffy made her way over to her door and placed her desk chair in front of it. It wasn't exactly a lock but at least they'd have a few extra seconds to scramble if someone tried to barge in on them. 

She made her way back over to the bed and was about to undress when she felt suddenly self-conscious. Sure they'd done this before but it was only once. Wait, that wasn't exactly true. One night; many, many times. And besides, Faith was a girl and . . . god, what they hell were they doing? This was so socially unacceptable, but . . . it didn't feel wrong. Everything they'd done the night before had felt . . . _right._

Feeling a familiar warmth creep up on her cheeks, Buffy moved to turn the lamp off first but Faith stopped her, struggling free from her t-shirt restraint to grab Buffy's wrist. 

"Don't turn it off," Faith said quietly. 

Buffy wanted to ask why but when her eyes caught a glimpse of Faith's nakedness, well . . . she understood why. 

Feeling her confidence grow, Buffy hesitated for only a moment before pulling her own t-shirt up and off. It didn't make it quite all of the way off though as Faith surged forward and captured her hands behind her back just as Buffy had done to her just a few minutes before. 

They fell back onto the bed together and Buffy settled onto her back, looking up at Faith who was hovering just a few inches above her. Faith leaned down to kiss her but Buffy pulled back as much as she could, getting Faith's attention. 

"What are we doing?" Buffy asked. 

Faith pressed her lips together as she stared into Buffy's eyes. "I dunno," she admitted. "Kinda figured I'd just go with it before we beat the bad guys and things go back to how they've always been." 

Deciding that was answer enough – she hadn't sorted out her own feelings yet so how could she expect Faith to have done so? – she leaned up and brought their lips together, sighing when Faith pressed her back into the mattress. 

‘Physical' was good. They could deal with ‘emotional' later. 

* * *

It was just after eight-thirty the next morning when Buffy walked into the kitchen to find Joyce and Faith sitting at the breakfast bar, chatting quietly while sipping from steaming mugs of coffee. Joyce smiled pleasantly and the corners of Faith's lips curved up playfully; she obviously knew the reason why Buffy had a scarf tied around her neck. 

"Mmm, coffee," Buffy cooed, filling a ceramic mug with the dark liquid. She was about to take a sip when she turned the mug and saw a picture of Dawn on the side of it which instantly made her groan. 

Damn the council was good at this whole planting-a-stranger-into-her-life thing. 

Setting the mug down, she opted to pull the container of orange juice from the fridge and poured some of it in a tall glass. She rested back against the counter and took a long sip, grinning against the glass when Dawn walked in looking very much like a zombie. 

"Why haven't her bruises healed yet, Buffy?" Joyce asked, concerned. 

"Because slayer healing takes a while to kick in," Buffy said happily. "She's just going to have to suffer." 

"Like you care, creeper" Dawn grumbled as she drank from the mug that Buffy had abandoned. "Speaking of suffering, explain to me again why you woke me up at the buttcrack of dawn?" 

"Uh, because the Mayor is planning mayhem and terror and all sorts of evil fun in just three days and not only do I have to deal with finding a way to stop him while keeping the council out of my business, but now I also have to worry about training you so that you don't get eaten by a monster?" Buffy replied. 

Dawn seemed to think about it for a moment and then took another sip of coffee and shrugged. "Well when you put it like that . . ." 

Faith chuckled and stood up from her stool, stretching her back and making her t-shirt ride up. Buffy glanced over and found she couldn't look away, at least until she heard Dawn clear her throat. When she looked over she saw that Dawn was smirking knowingly and it took all of Buffy's strength not to reach over and smack her around. 

God, maybe they _were_ sisters. 

She needed to talk to Giles and Willow, stat. 

"Mom, what did Giles say about meeting me?" she asked suddenly. 

"He said he'd be at the library early this morning and for you and Faith to join him once you were awake. I filled him in on a few of the details you shared; he said you should bring Dawn, too." 

"Wonderful," Buffy said with false enthusiasm. "Research _and_ quality time with the interloping sister-type person." 

"Buffy . . ." Joyce began seriously but Buffy cut her off. 

"I know, I know. She's my . . . _sister_. Whatever. I can smack her around at the library just as easily as I can in the basement," Buffy replied, suddenly chipper again. "Dawn? Get your bag. Oh, and a change of clothes or two. The school frowns upon students walking around with bloodstains." 

Whistling a happy tune, she placed her now empty glass in the sink and left out the back door, leaving Faith, Dawn, and Joyce sitting there. After a moment, Joyce cleared her throat nervously. 

"Honey, I think you better pack a first aid kit," she suggested to Dawn. 

Dawn huffed but wandered off to do as she was told. Faith finished her coffee and then put the empty mug in the sink before heading for the back door. She stopped just before stepping out and looked back at Joyce, smiling apologetically. 

"B gets pretty enthusiastic and well . . . Dawn's a kid. She's stubborn. Trust me when I say you're gonna need some extra ice packs when we get back later." 

She disappeared out the door without another word and Joyce knew for sure that Faith was right. If things weren't already weird enough in her house, they was about to get a whole lot more interesting. She only hoped her health insurance would cover all of the medical costs sure to be incurred.


	26. Twenty-Six

A loud thud sounded throughout the library for what had to be the twentieth time that morning, making everyone grouped around the messy wooden table look up in alarm. As with the other twenty times, Buffy smirked and went back to what she was doing while Xander, Willow, and Giles all grimaced in sympathy.

Dawn was flat on her back on a mat about fifteen feet away from them, covered in sweat and bruises and looking generally beat. Faith was walking in a slow circle around the mat, trying hard to hide her satisfied smile but it was apparent to everyone there that she was enjoying this almost as much as Dawn wasn't. 

"I wasn't ready that time," Dawn groaned. She managed to get herself up into a sitting position but didn't make any effort to stand. 

"And what about the sixteen times before that?" Faith asked. 

"I wasn't ready then either," Dawn began. "It's summer vacation. I'm supposed to be home in bed right now, not getting pummeled by a slayer with a grudge." 

"I'm not the slayer with a grudge, she is," Faith replied and pointed over at Buffy who held her hand up in the air and wiggled her fingers but didn't look over; she was too busy being smug. "I'm the slayer who likes hitting things in my spare time." 

"So why does that automatically make me the slayer who gets to play practice dummy?" 

"Because you're the slayer who doesn't know her ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to fighting," Faith said. "We've got three days to get you ready for a battle royale and unless you wanna be known as the slayer who lasted less than a week, you're gonna get up until I can't knock ya down anymore." 

She stopped at Dawn's side and extended her hand down. Dawn looked at it warily before taking it and letting herself be pulled up. Faith immediately fell back into fighting stance while Dawn took a moment to stretch out her sore muscles. 

Everyone at the table collectively sighed with relief and focused once again on what they'd been discussing before they'd been interrupted. There were a few opened books on the table but they were pushed to the middle so that they could finish enjoying the doughnuts and coffee that Xander had brought. Giles took one last bite of his jelly doughnut and finished chewing it before wiping his mouth with a napkin and addressing Buffy. 

"Could you go over the events of the night that Faith, erm . . ." 

"Died?" Buffy finished. "Sure. Well we'd been in the cabin having dinner and it was a pretty beautiful night out so we decided to go for a swim." 

"Wait, you and Faith made with the swimming?" Xander asked. "But you didn't pack bathing suits because you knew you were headed to Montana." 

The wheels in his mind were clearly turning and Buffy quickly continued to distract him – and everyone else – from his thoughts. 

"Minor detail. The point is, we went down to the lake and jumped in, just like we had several times before then. We didn't stay in long though because the water was cold, so we got out and toweled off. I was really cold though so I started running back and Faith said she'd be right behind me. But then . . ." 

She was interrupted by another loud thud from across the room. Everyone looked over once again to find Dawn flat on her back again. 

"But then my bracelet came off," Faith continued where Buffy left off. She walked over and tapped Buffy on the shoulder. "Tag, you're in." 

Grinning, Buffy stood up and walked over to the mats where Dawn was still laying. She didn't offer her a hand like Faith had but waited expectantly with her hands on her hips until Dawn got the message and struggled to her feet. When they began to circle each other, Faith continued. 

"I tried finding it but it was crazy dark out there and it slipped down between the rocks. Meanwhile B was getting farther and farther away and we musta got more than a hundred yards apart cos I started feeling all dizzy and had a pain in my chest. It got so bad I couldn't walk or breathe. Tried to call B but she was too far at that point. Next thing I knew, blondie over there was lockin' lips with me and tryin' to bring me back." 

She opened the box of donuts and rummaged through it before finding one she liked. 

"And she succeeded," Giles surmised. 

Faith stopped an inch away from putting the doughnut in her mouth and looked over at Giles with both eyebrows raised. "Do I look like a ghost to you?" 

"You sure don't hit like one," Dawn offered, then grunted when Buffy hit her with a hard right. 

Faith chuckled and took a whopping bite of the doughnut, chewing happily while Giles made a few notes in a plain notepad. 

"Buffy?" Giles called out. She stooped low and spun with one leg extended, knocking Dawn's feet out from under her in the blink of an eye and sending her down to the mat with a loud thud. Pleased with herself, Buffy stood up straight and joined the others at the table, looking at Giles expectantly. "Erm," he began, looking from Dawn to his notepad and shaking his head gently, "was Faith breathing when you found her?" 

"Nope. I did CPR for a few minutes and that zapped her back. The damage was already done though." She pointed over at a still prostrate Dawn fifteen feet away from them. 

Giles took off his glasses and placed them on the table. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath. 

"This is completely perplexing," he said, sounding quite frustrated. "I'm not sure why you don't remember Dawn. I have very detailed memories; I'm certain she's always been here." 

"I have them too," Willow said apologetically. "You've tried to put her up for adoption and sell her off, but that doesn't change the fact that she's . . ." 

". . . my sister," Buffy finished, rubbing her forehead in annoyance. "I know. But I have the runes on my ribs to hide us from magic _and_ the bracelet that you gave me, Wills. Even if the council had a spell cast on me, it wouldn't have worked. And besides that, why is it that when we left here, we had a spare bedroom at the house that Mom was going to turn into a room for Faith but when we got back, it's suddenly being inhabited by a sister neither Faith or I have any memory of who just _happens_ to be the new slayer?" 

"I assure you that the council has no choice in which slayer is called," Giles said. "It can locate potential slayers and often does to start preparing them, but they have no say in who or when." 

"But that's not completely true. They came after Faith to get a new slayer. Maybe they can't choose who but they can certainly choose when." 

"Even then, it just doesn't make sense. I assume we all agree that something untoward has happened, I just can't seem to determine what it is. I've been searching for anything out of the ordinary since your mother rang before your arrival yesterday but it's difficult to find something when I'm not sure what it is I'm looking for." 

Fifteen feet away, Dawn made her way back to her feet and was watching them, her arms crossed over her chest. Buffy walked back over to her and dropped into fight stance, urging Dawn to come at her. Dawn grinned and charged at her . . . and was promptly flipped over Buffy's shoulder. Buffy was already walking back toward the table when Dawn landed with a thud on the mats, making even Faith wince this time. 

"Wills, is there something you can do to see if there's been any large-scale mojo worked in the area?" Buffy asked casually. 

Willow looked nervously between a groaning Dawn and a completely nonchalant Buffy, worrying her bottom lip as she did so. 

"I've already done a read of the aura around the town and it has definitely changed though I can't specify how or why," Willow replied. "I've been reading about a spell that can trace specific magic that's been done, so long as it's used within a reasonable amount of time after the fact. Giles?" 

"I know the spell you're speaking of," he replied with a gentle nod. "It will require some supplies that we won't be able to find in a small town like Sunnydale. Angel made a trip to Los Angeles late last night to move some of his belongings and to speak to a source who may have some information on the mayor's plan. I can ring and ask him to fetch what we can't find here. Willow and I can prepare the spell when he arrives back tonight." 

"So we've got some time to burn then," Buffy noted. "Faith and I will keep working with the fresh meat . . ." 

"I resent that!" Dawn called out, her voice muffled by the mat pressed against her cheek. 

"Sorry," Buffy apologized, then tried again. "Faith and I will keep working the _tenderized, slightly rancid_ meat to test what she can do." 

"More like what she can withstand," Faith mumbled, trying to hide her smile. 

"We'll be back after sunset," Buffy continued. "Tell Angel to hurry back; time's running out." 

She and Faith made their way toward the double doors and left the library without another word. That is, until a few minutes passed by and they realized that Dawn hadn't followed them. Sticking her bad back in through the door, Buffy yelled, 

"Dawn! Now!" 

Groaning, Dawn stood up and grabbed her duffel bag from the floor. She looked over to the group at the table for some kind of help but all they could offer her were sympathetic looks that did nothing to ease her pain. Sighing, she limped across the library and out the door, not wanting to incur any more of Buffy's wrath. 

* * *

It was many hours later when they'd finally arrived at Giles' apartment. It was too late for a meeting at the school without garnering suspicion so the location had been changed at the last minute. Only Willow and Giles were there; Angel had opted to go out and patrol, seeing as that he knew Buffy and Faith needed to lay low. Sending them out to patrol when the mayor's vamps could find them just didn't seem smart to anyone. 

Everyone was still mad at Buffy and Faith for having taken the risk the night before. 

Luckily, Angel had been lucky while in Los Angeles. Not only was he able to find the ingredients needed for the spell but he was also able to obtain a book from his source with some information on what the mayor was up to. 

Buffy held the book up and turned her head to look at the page that folded out several panes long. Faith walked up beside her and turned her head to the side too, her eyes widening when she saw what they were looking at: a huge snake of some sort that had to be bigger than the apartment building they were currently standing in. 

" _That's_ what we're gonna be facing off against?" she asked, worried. 

"Unless we can kill the mayor before then," Buffy replied, then looked up to Giles. " _Can_ we kill him before then?" 

"I'm afraid not," he answered. "He's obtained a box that has made him invincible after ingesting its contents. If we have any chance at all of defeating him, it will be at the graduation ceremony when he ascends into his full demon form. Only then will he be vulnerable to harm." 

"So we gotta fight the giant, terrifying snake," Faith said rather than asked. When Giles nodded, she scoffed and flopped down onto the couch. "Listen G, we're good but we ain't _that_ good. That thing is twenty times our size, easy. Sticking it with some knives ain't gonna do anything but piss it off." 

"Perhaps we can use his emotional attachment to you as a means of drawing him out," Giles suggested and Faith raised her eyebrows at him. 

"Giles, the guy sent his boys to kill me. The only emotion I'm gonna get from him is rage, and I personally don't wanna piss off the giant snake more than I have to." 

"We may be able to use that rage to draw him away from the others. Don't forget that there will be several hundred students present, as well as their families who've come to observe the commencement ceremony. Our first duty is to keep them safe; our second duty is to destroy the mayor. His ascension is inevitable but we can still save the town and the world at large." 

"Well when you figure out how we do that, you let me know," Faith said. She laid back on the couch and picked up a magazine from the coffee table, then tossed it aside distastefully when she realized that it was about something that only Giles would find entertaining. 

Buffy sat down on the arm of the couch and looked from Faith to Giles, shrugging helplessly. There was nothing she could do to offer more insight; she was just as clueless on what to do as they were. 

"For what it's worth," she began, "there's graduation rehearsal on the 21st, the day after tomorrow. If we can't figure out anything by then, maybe we can try to persuade the school to change the date." 

"Yeah, or we can make an army outta your classmates and give them all machine guns and grenades," Faith suggested unhelpfully, making Buffy smile. 

Giles simply looked thoughtful as if he was actually considering the idea. When Buffy opened her mouth to question him, Willow walked into the room with a bowl of herbs and a small glass container full of some kind of shimmery pink liquid. She set them down on the coffee table and wiped her sweaty palms on her thighs, looking up at Giles nervously. 

"I think I'm ready to begin." 

"Don't be nervous, Willow. You've been over the incantation a dozen times today. I have faith in your abilities," Giles said. 

His reassurance made her smile and she looked over to Buffy and Faith, smiling nervously. 

"Okay," she began. "This is how this will work. The herbs are already prepared in the bowl, thanks to Giles' help. He and I will chant while I pour the pixie blood over them . . ." 

Buffy's eyes widened as she looked over to the shimmery pink liquid. " _That's_ pixie blood?" When Willow nodded, Buffy went from looking grossed out to curious. "It's . . . kind of pretty, actually." 

"I know, right?" Willow asked excitedly. She became more serious when Giles glared at them. "Right, so I pour the blood on the herbs and it will create a fog. The fog will surround anything that's been touched by magic recently." 

Buffy sighed. "That's gonna be a problem. Faith _was_ touched by magic. That's how the council stopped her heart." 

Willow shook her head excitedly, "Don't worry about it, Buffy, we took that into account. Giles used taro root to specify the magic used. Once the fog has settled around anyone affected, it will glow a certain color. That should help us determine what kind of spell it was. Faith's color will be different than ours if we haven't been affected by the same magics." 

"And you think you can determine the spell used based on the color?" Buffy asked doubtfully. 

"Sure thing," Willow replied with a smile. "There are only a handful of types of spells out there. The variations of those individual spells is where it gets tricky, but at least we'll have a starting point." 

"Perhaps we should get started while the blood is still fresh," Giles suggested. 

Willow nodded in agreement and Buffy stood up from the arm of the couch, Faith joining her just a few seconds later. Giles put his hand on Willow's back to encourage her and she took a deep breath, then began pouring the blood slowly on the herbs. 

Nothing happened at first but when she and Giles began to chant, a thin thread of smoke began to rise from the bowl. Suddenly there was a spark and the smoke began to grow into a thick fog, immediately filling and swirling around the room. Willow looked nervous as the fog began to creep out the windows and door. More and more fog kept pouring out of the small bowl. 

Only when it stopped smoking did they start to look around, trying to focus their eyes in the thick fog. There was no mistaking the fact that the fog had filled up the entire apartment . . . and everything outside of it too! Giles stepped over to the window and looked utterly confused to see the fog up and down the streets and surrounding his neighbor who'd been taking out her trash and a jogger who happened to be running by at the time. 

Every square inch of the town seemed to be affected . . . with the exception of the three or so feet of space around Buffy. She was completely unaffected and had her arms crossed over her chest, a knowing smirk on her face. 

"I told you that we're not crazy," Buffy said. 

"Giles?" Willow asked nervously. 

"It appears Buffy was right," he said, trying to wave the fog away. "She hasn't been affected by magic but it seems that . . . everyone else has. The entire town, I'm willing to bet." 

"What about Faith?" Buffy asked. 

"Yeah, what about Faith?" Faith asked, swatting at the fog in annoyance. 

It was then that the fog began to glow around them. Faith was illuminated with a deep red color while Giles and Willow – and the people who were outside marveling at the sudden fog – glowed a pale yellow. It was a clear indicator that whatever had affected Faith was different than what had affected everyone else. 

"Red is lethal magic," Willow pointed out. "It's used to do harm." 

"What about yellow?" Buffy asked, wondering why she was jealous that she wasn't a pretty color too. Then she remembered that colors were bad in this case and she felt a sense of relief at her colorlessness. 

"Memory," Giles said quietly. "Yellow indicates a spell to alter memory." 

"Can someone do a spell like that over a whole town?" Faith asked. 

"It appears so," he replied, then turned to Buffy, a worried look upon his face. "Buffy dear, your mother . . ." 

"Is at home with Dawn," Buffy finished for him, "who may be a slayer but is not my sister." 

"Apparently not." He seemed genuinely puzzled but more than that, he seemed upset; disbelieving. 

Buffy could imagine why; his memories had been altered and he'd had no idea about it. Not even an inkling. Here he'd been doubting her all along and now he knew that he was in the wrong. The council really was as bad as Buffy was making it out to be. 

"Which is why I'm sure you'll understand when I say that I need to get home. Now. I can't leave my mom alone with her. We can meet at the library tomorrow. I'll bring Dawn – or whoever she is – so that we can keep an eye on her." 

Giles nodded, still at a loss for words, and Buffy looked over to Willow, smiling softly. 

"Thanks for the help, Wills. Can we walk you home?" 

Willow happily accepted the offer and grabbed her jacket after making sure with Giles that it was okay to leave. It was only a short walk from there but with the fog as thick as it was, it wasn't safe for anyone to just be wandering around outside. 

Not with the state that Sunnydale was currently in. 

* * *

It was almost an hour later when Buffy and Faith walked through the front door of the house, a tiny bit of the lingering fog making its way inside with them. Buffy closed the door behind them and took her jacket off, hanging it up on the coat rack. While the house was mostly dark, she heard the TV on and looked into the front room to find Joyce and Dawn sitting on the couch watching TV together. There was still an almost imperceptible glow lingering around them and Buffy furrowed her brow when she saw that, while her mom was yellow, Dawn was green as well as yellow. 

She slowly wandered into the room, her entrance going unnoticed until Joyce looked up, startled. 

"Oh honey, I didn't hear you come in," she said as she stood up from the couch and made her way over. "I was getting worried. The news stations are all covering this weird fog. Did you know that it's making its way across America as we speak?" 

Buffy's stomach dropped. It was worse than she'd imagined. She looked back at Faith who was lingering by the stairs, wanting to avoid the discussion. 

"I didn't know that," she said when she looked to Joyce again. She noticed Dawn glaring at her but she ignored it. "It's been kind of a long day, Mom. We're just gonna . . ." she indicated the stairs and Joyce nodded. 

"Of course. It's pretty late. Your sister and I are just about to head up too." 

"Good idea. We'll see you in the morning." Then she looked over at Dawn and her expression hardened. "Set your alarm. We have to be at the library early." 

She didn't say anything else, she simply turned and followed Faith up the stairs. They took turns in the bathroom showering and getting ready for bed and forty-five minutes later, they were finally getting settled in for the night. Faith took pity on Buffy and actually wore a t-shirt to bed and Buffy did the same, though hers was longer and covered a bit more. 

They climbed onto the bed, Buffy on the right side and Faith on the left. There was a fair bit of space between them as they both laid flat and stared at the ceiling. Buffy had way too much on her mind to sleep, despite how exhausted she felt. She had a feeling that Faith was having the same problem. 

"Can't sleep?" she asked after nearly twenty minutes passed by. 

"Nope," Faith replied easily. 

"Thinking too much?" 

"Horny too much." 

"Oh," Buffy replied, surprised. "Were you going to . . .?" . . . pounce, she thought, but opted instead to let Faith fill in the blank. 

Faith shrugged a little, turning on her side to face Buffy. 

"Kinda thought you wouldn't wanna. Long day, like you said." 

"I don't _not_ want to," Buffy replied almost shyly. "I'm just . . ." 

". . . not an initiator," Faith finished for her with a small grin. She scooted closer to Buffy and put her hand on her side, running it slowly up and down, making the material of her shirt bunch up as she did so. "Lucky for you, I am." 

Buffy shuddered a little as Faith's hand slid under her shirt and came into contact with her skin. 

"I'll be honest, it wasn't the first thing on my mind, but now that the idea is out there . . ." she trailed off, her hand finding Faith's through the material of her shirt and pushing it up so that it covered her breast. 

Faith grinned even more and leaned down to kiss her but stopped just short of reaching her lips. She looked down into Buffy's eyes and her grin turned more into a soft smile. 

"You can initiate any time you want, yunno. Not like I'm gonna fight you off." 

"I'll take that into consideration," Buffy murmured before wrapping her hands behind Faith's neck and pulling her down for a long, deep kiss. 

Faith began massaging her breast after a few moments, making Buffy groan softly into her mouth. Buffy had always laughed at the girls in movies who moaned and groaned their way through sex – she'd never understood why they did that. But now with Faith touching her so perfectly and kissing her in a way that curled her toes, she was suddenly beginning to understand why. 

It was only when Faith's hand started to explore lower that Buffy had to get a check on the noises she was making. She couldn't seem to help but make them but she knew she couldn't; not with other people in the house. 

Namely, other people who were likely sent by the council to spy on her. 

A soft thud on the other side of the wall made Buffy's eyes shoot open. In a flash she was underneath the blankets, pulling them up over her head as she fixed her shirt and rearranged her panties which Faith had been trying to tug down. 

The blanket lifted up a bit at the top and Faith looked down at her, confused. 

"Is this you initiating?" Faith asked. 

"No!" Buffy said in a harsh whisper. "This is me hiding! What if she's spying on us right now? She could have cameras hidden in here and everything!" 

Faith opened her mouth to speak but instead sighed and rubbed at her eyebrow. "I'm going to bed horny tonight, ain't I." 

Buffy's only reply was to pull the blanket back down from Faith's hand so that she was hidden once again. Her face burned hot with embarrassment as Faith went back to her side of the bed and rolled over, leaving her under the blankets alone in her paranoia.


	27. Twenty-Seven

The sound of trickling water woke Buffy from her slumber. She opened her eyes to find that she was no longer in her bedroom but someplace completely unfamiliar. There were a few candles lit in the distance but it was dark, so dark, and she had trouble focusing her vision. She could detect a thin layer of smoke in the air but she couldn't tell where it was coming from.

Trying to adjust her senses to the darkness, she slowly began to take steps with her arms out in front of her, blindly groping for a wall or something that could guide her. The floor was rough and uneven and, that paired with the sound of trickling water, she assumed that she was in a cave of some sort. 

She crept slowly along, inching her way around stone columns that got in her way, to find that she was indeed in some kind of cave or den and that she wasn't alone. Her heart beating hard and fast, she peeked around yet another stone column – or was that a stalagmite? – to find three withered corpses laying on the middle of the hard ground. 

Squinting her eyes, she detected movement and suddenly realized that they weren't corpses at all; they were old women! And they were alive! 

Gasping quietly, Buffy tried to duck behind the column again when one of the women glanced in her direction. It was too late though; she'd been spotted. 

"She is here," one of the women said. 

"Come, child," another said. "There is not much time." 

"For what?" Buffy asked, still hidden behind the pillar. "For you to suck my youth out so the three of you can be young again? I don't think so!" 

Yep, she'd read one too many scary fairytales when she was young. 

"We haven't been young for over a millennia," the first woman croaked. "We've left those years behind and look now not for our youth but for our continued existence." 

"For the continued existence of the world and all its inhabitants," the second woman added. 

Deciding to give them the benefit of the doubt, Buffy stepped out from behind the column and approached the three women, studying them intently. She could see a stone slab just off to their side with a smoking pipe set atop it. The smoke gathered above their prone bodies and appeared to be trapped in some kind of swirling magic. 

"I don't mean to be rude but haven't you ever heard that secondhand smoke kills?" she asked, waving her hand around in front of her face. 

One of the women slowly sat up and shuffled around, trying to get to her feet. Buffy's initial reaction was to help her but instead she stood there, afraid to get too close. That was how the witches in the books always got the unsuspecting princesses! 

Her brow furrowing as a thought crossed her mind, she opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again. After a few moments, she tried again. 

"You gals wouldn't happen to be the seers on the Council's payroll, would you?" 

"Nine hundred and ninety-nine years is the time on our sentence, punished for meddling with events determined as destiny," one of the prone sisters said. "I am Hypatia, and these are my sisters Syntyche and Euphemia." 

"We were the strongest coven of white witches for decades," Syntyche continued. "Powers greater than us dictated that we were not allowed to interfere with destiny." 

"But we did," Hypatia continued. "Our first punishment was immortality; that we shall live – and age – so long as the Earth turns." 

"Our second punishment was the binding of our powers and the bestowment of visions; allowed to see horrors but able to do nothing to stop them," Syntyche said. "Nine-hundred and ninety-nine years of helplessness." 

"And our third punishment was our eternal servitude to the watchers of the Slayer; the one girl who is bestowed with the privilege to change destiny by fighting for it," Hypatia said. 

"But one thousand years have passed and our powers have returned," Syntyche continued. "Still, we are trapped here by our eternal sentence from the elder powers. We continue to receive visions, but with our returned powers we now have a way to send them out; to enable others to do something since we cannot leave here." 

"We cannot interfere directly . . ." Hypatia began. 

"But you can interfere indirectly through me," Buffy finished. "I get it. I'm your puppet. What's in it for you? And why is she so quiet?" she indicated Euphemia who was slowly heading for the stone slab. "Cat got your tongue?" 

Euphemia slowly turned toward Buffy and smiled a toothless grin . . . then opened her mouth wide to reveal the gaping hole where her tongue had been removed. 

Buffy grimaced and took a step back, ignoring the way that Euphemia seemed to be amused at her reaction. 

"Okay, sorry I asked. Let me guess, you're the one that talked back," she said. Euphemia merely turned and slowly began to head for the slab again, silently confirming Buffy's suspicions. "That's way gross. But still, unrelated. Why did you send me the vision of Faith's death?" 

"Because only you could stop her," Hypatia explained. "We showed you her destiny and you changed it." 

"That may be true but something got screwed up along the way because she died anyway," Buffy said, shaking her head slightly as she tried to understand. "Maybe it was only for a few minutes, but a new slayer was called and the Council planted her into my life as my sister. I don't know who she is or where she came from but she certainly isn't my . . ." 

"She _is_ your sister," Syntyche interrupted. "We know this because we created her that way." 

Buffy blinked and she felt her stomach drop like she'd just fallen off of a cliff. She shook her head slowly, unable to comprehend what she'd just heard. Seemingly able to sense this, Syntyche continued. 

"We used the energy of the earth to create Dawn from you; your blood, your memories; your life. The slayer already exists in the very essence we created her with because it is _your_ essence. It is why, when the council chose to end Faith's life, we were able to interfere with who was next called. We used strong magic to settle her into this world; anyone who might remember Dawn now remembers her. It is as if she has always existed; even to the council. They were uninformed of our meddling and still are." 

"Okay," Buffy began slowly, taking in a deep breath. "Serious violation of _me_ aside, why did you want her called? I mean, aren't there like hundreds of potential slayers out there just waiting for their turn? Why would you create a person from me to have her called as the next slayer, and more importantly, why would you magically stick her in my life like that? I don't . . ." 

She paused and closed her eyes, feeling suddenly wobbly. Her legs felt like jello and her heart fluttered in her chest. 

"She is waking. We are running out of time," Hypatia said to her sisters and quickly gestured to Euphemia who began to walk toward Buffy with the smoking pipe in her hand. "Now listen, child. We created her because it was the only way that the council would leave both you and Faith alive." 

"But Faith died . . ." Buffy tried but was interrupted. 

". . . and yet she lives. The council wouldn't have stopped; they would have given chase until they found her and carried out their plan. By giving them Dawn, they have their new slayer; and by making her your sister, they won't be able to hurt you or Faith because in doing so, they will lose their hold over their slayer – your sister." 

"But why is it so important to the three of you whether Faith and I live or not?" 

"Because you must," Hypatia answered. 

"It is the only way," Syntyche added. 

_"Together you will save us all,"_ Euphemia said using her mind-speak. 

Buffy looked over toward the slowly approaching Euphemia and took a few steps back, then looked back at the other sisters. 

"What, you mean, like, bust you guys out of here? Sure. Just tell me where here is and Faith and I can come and save you just as soon as we can," she said, her confidence wavering on the last part. 

"Not us, the world," Hypatia corrected. "It shall begin with Richard Wilkins III." 

"The Mayor is going to destroy the world?" Buffy asked, confused. 

"He is only a minor threat," Syntyche replied. "This battle will be a test; the outcome of it will let us know if our meddling was worth the sentence that will surely be carried out once the elder powers find out." 

Buffy took another step back, her brow furrowed. 

"A test of what?" she asked. 

Suddenly she looked to her side to find Euphemia standing there, puffing hard on the wooden pipe. 

_"To see if you are ready for this,"_ Euphemia replied using her mind-speak. She then blew a long mouthful of the smoke in Buffy's face, stunning the girl. 

Suddenly Buffy's eyes clouded over and she looked out into the distance as a vision began to appear to her. She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking at but she could see her friends; they were fighting off a horde of robed demons aside a tall but shoddy metal tower. A flash of blonde hair caught her vision off to the side and she looked over to see herself holding up a huge hammer and hurling it again and again at a curly-haired blonde woman. 

The woman barely seemed fazed by the crushing blows and continued to come at Buffy again and again. 

A spark of blue caught Buffy's vision and she looked over toward the tower to see a huge portal opening beneath it. It grew in size as the seconds ticked by and giant flying demons began swarming out of it. The ground began to quake and as Buffy looked down at her feet, she saw a chasm beginning to open up between them. Just as she was sure she was about to fall down it and to the fire waiting below, a thick smoke poured over her. She closed her eyes tight and when she opened them again, she was back in the cavern. 

All three sisters were once again lying on the ground, staring up into the swirling smoke above them, twitching gently. 

"What was that?" Buffy asked, tears stinging her eyes, her heart beating hard in her chest. 

"That is a god, and in less than two years time, she is destined to open a portal between her world and ours," Hypatia croaked. 

"And our world will die," Syntyche finished. 

"But why show it to me now?" Buffy asked angrily. She clenched her fists tightly at her sides, her fingernails cutting into the skin of her palms. "Why show me the end of the world if it's already destined to happen?" 

_"Because you can change it,"_ all three sisters answered at once. 

"One slayer cannot do it all," Hypatia explained. "But now there are three. The portal cannot be opened without your blood . . ." 

". . . and Dawn's blood . . ." 

". . . and Faith's blood." 

_"So the three of you will fight together, and as a team, you will save us all,"_ Euphemia said with her mind-speak. 

The three witches went rigid and suddenly the swirling cloud of smoke above them shot toward Buffy, entering her through her nose, mouth, eyes and ears. She gasped and nearly fell over, but that was when she saw it: the vision. Only it was different this time. 

_Faith and Dawn fighting minions while Buffy chased the blonde god up the tower; Faith and Dawn joining her at the pinnacle; the god falling into her own portal, closing it back up for good as the earth shifted back to normal in its wake._

"Is this real?" Buffy asked, her voice trembling. "Can we really beat her?" 

"That is up to you," Hypatia answered. "Teach your sister. Train her properly. Defeat your Mayor as one. If you survive – if the three of you survive – the world may stand a chance." 

Feeling suddenly woozy, Buffy dropped to her knees on the hard ground. She put her hands out and fell forward onto the cave floor, feeling the coolness of it on her cheek before finally succumbing to the haziness that settled over her. 

* * *

Waking from a deep sleep, Buffy could tell that it was already morning and probably time for them to be getting up for the day. The birds were singing outside and she gently stretched one of her arms above her head, getting it tangled up in the blankets. Humming contentedly, she lingered for a while on the border between sleep and awake. It was a perfect slow intro to the morning. 

Something was niggling at her though; something she needed to remember or do . . . something that would require her to fully wake up and think about. But she felt too good to stop dozing, all snug and comfortable in her nice soft bed. Besides, Faith was so warm against her and her lips felt so nice . . . 

Wait, Faith's lips? 

Waking up just a little bit more, enough to realize that she was being kissed over her chest and tummy, she made a happy little noise in the back of her throat. The kissing stopped for a moment but then started up again when Buffy didn't move. 

She was enjoying the soft kisses far too much to stop them, but when she felt those soft, pouty lips moving even lower, she furrowed her brow a little. 

"What are you doing?" she asked sleepily. 

"Just kissin' you," Faith whispered. 

"My lips are up here." 

"Not interested in those lips right now. Interested in these," Faith breathed, then began kissing over Buffy's panties. 

Buffy smiled sleepily, a breath escaping her parting lips as Faith continued to kiss over her. It was only when she felt fingertips creeping over her hips and slipping under the sides of her panties to tug them down that she fully realized what was going on. 

Though she didn't want to, Buffy forced herself to fully wake up and opened her eyes to find that . . . she was under the blankets. In fact, both of them were. Faith had apparently been doing some rearranging and there was a blanket draped above them, hanging over the headboard and draped all the way down to the desk chair that she'd moved over to the foot of the bed. There were pillows propped up around them keeping the blanket just high enough that it made a small tent around them. 

"If there are cameras, they sure as hell ain't under here," Faith said quietly. 

"But what if they have sound and they can hear us," Buffy whispered. 

"You'll just have to be really . . ." Faith's tongue darted out and swiped over her slit through her panties, "really . . ." she did it again, "quiet." 

Buffy fought back the groan that was trying to escape her throat and instead brought her left hand up to her face, pressing the back of it against her lips. She didn't resist when Faith's fingers began to tug her panties down and instead lifted up her hips to make it easier. Faith easily removed them and tossed them to the side and Buffy spread her thighs just a little bit, giving Faith ample room to nestle between them. 

It was Faith who groaned this time as she looked over Buffy's pussy, then leaned down to take a taste. Her tongue swiped over her softly, gently, and Buffy's right hand found its way to the back of Faith's head, encouraging it down a little bit harder. 

Buffy could hear Faith chuckle softly at that but then all she could hear was the sound of her own blood pumping hard in her ears as Faith's tongue began to flick over her clit again and again, stopping now and again to slide down to her hole to gather her wetness up on her tongue. Faith was groaning against her soft, wet flesh, obviously enjoying herself just as much as Buffy was. 

Letting Faith take total control, Buffy didn't fight when she felt Faith shifting around a bit on the bed. Without moving her mouth away from Buffy, Faith moved one of the blonde's tanned legs so that it went up over her shoulder, effectively pinning her to Buffy. While at first Buffy wasn't sure what she'd moved her leg for, she soon found out when Faith's amazing tongue slid down her slit and pushed inside of her, making her hips lift off of the bed. 

"Oh Faith," Buffy breathed when her hand fell away from her mouth. 

She quickly lifted it back up and began to bite on the knuckle of her middle finger. She was almost positive that she was going to bite it clear off when Faith began to move her tongue slowly in and out of her, then she was even more sure that she might lose her whole damn hand when Faith's thumb started to rub against her clit. 

"Fuck!" she murmured around her finger, purposefully trying to ignore the soft creaking her bed frame was making as her hips began to buck up to meet Faith's thrusts. 

She audibly whimpered when that decadent tongue, so soft yet filling her so perfectly, slipped out, leaving her feeling like she was spinning on the edge of a high cliff with her eyes closed. 

"Gotta be quiet, B," Faith whispered and then lowered her head back down, earning an appreciative moan from Buffy as her tongue found its way back to her clit. 

Buffy reached over and grabbed one of the pillows to her side that was holding up the sheet above them. She put it over her face and pressed it hard against her mouth, hoping beyond hope that it would muffle any of the noises that were accidentally escaping her. 

She gasped when two of Faith's long fingers slid deep inside of her, curling up to send her hurtling over the side of the cliff and on a freefall that seemed to go on for ages. She wasn't sure when she'd lifted her upper body off the mattress but she collapsed back against it a minute later, breathing hard and biting on her lower lip. 

In no hurry to move – she couldn't feel her legs anyway – she tossed the pillow back over to the side of the bed and sighed contentedly. Her body jerked as those dexterous fingers languidly slipped out and Faith kissed over her still sensitive clit a few times. 

Finally managing to open her eyes, Buffy smiled as she watched Faith sliding up under their blanket fortress, a sexy grin on her face as she did so. They were still wearing their t-shirts but Buffy could feel the heat of Faith's skin through them, so comforting and familiar even though they'd only been together like this a few times. 

She brought her hand up to Faith's lips and brushed her thumb over them, clearing her lingering wetness away. 

"If that was ‘just kissing' there's no wonder why you're so popular," Buffy said and laughed when Faith grinned even more and pinched her side. 

"Yeah, well . . . our house-hopping-while-hiding and the Montana trip aside, this is the first sleepover I've ever had. Wasn't really sure about etiquette or whatever but I kinda wanted to try out the whole morning sex thing." 

"And?" 

"And?" Faith asked, smiling. "Guess I've been missin' out. It was pretty awesome." 

"Yeah, for me," Buffy replied, laughing. "You still haven't gotten your turn." 

Faith raised one of her eyebrows playfully. "That so?" 

"Uh-huh," Buffy said. She rolled them over in a swift motion, coming to rest atop Faith. 

The blanket above them sagged down and shrouded them in white cotton but they didn't seem to mind. The light coming in from the window was bright and they could still see each other well enough even in their own little fortress of white sheets. 

"And what exactly will this turn consist of?" Faith asked, her hands sliding up Buffy's thighs and coming to rest on her hips. 

"Anything you want," Buffy whispered, moving her hips just a little as she stared into Faith's eyes. "So long as you direct me around the curves." 

Faith groaned aloud at that and Buffy grinned; she liked having that effect on Faith with just her words. She leaned down to capture Faith's lips in their first kiss of the morning – sex breath be damned – but jumped back when there was a loud thud on the other side of the wall. The sheet now over her head and making her look like she was wearing a homemade ghost costume, Buffy quickly pulled it off when there was a loud crash in her room, messing up her already messy morning hair 

She immediately spotted the wooden shelf that usually hung on her wall, now lying on the floor with its contents spilled around it. 

From the next room over, she heard Dawn's muffled yelling, _"God! Slayer hearing, here!"_

Her eyes wide, Buffy grasped the fallen sheet and wrapped it around her, falling down onto the mattress and hiding underneath it, mortified. 

Faith chuckled beside her, trying to lift the blanket to look beneath it. "She might not be your real kid sis but she sure as hell acts like it." 

It was those simple words that sparked a memory within Buffy. 

Her mortification temporarily forgotten, she remembered her dream – or whatever it had been – and what had been revealed to her. She looked up at Faith, trying to process her thoughts. 

The three sisters; Dawn; the Mayor; the future. 

"But . . . she is," she said after a moment. 

Faith looked confused as she asked, "She's what?" 

"My sister," Buffy replied, barely able to believe what she was saying. At Faith's questioning look, she continued. "It's a long story. I'll tell you all about it when we get to the library. Meet me downstairs in twenty minutes, I need a shower." 

She sat up and gave Faith a quick kiss before putting on her robe and heading out of the room and down the hall, leaving Faith sitting there in utter confusion. 

"Dawn! We're leaving in twenty minutes," she called out as she passed by her sister's room, ignoring the grumbling that came from within it. 

With the looming question of Dawn's origin and sudden intrusion into her life out of the way – at least for now - her mind was racing with possible ways to overcome their other, bigger problem. 

She walked into the bathroom and immediately undressed, going over every detail from the dream that she could possibly remember. There were things that she still didn't understand and probably never would, but one thing was clear: it was time to stop treating Dawn like the enemy. She was her sister, as fucked up as that reality was, and she was a slayer. 

An equal. 

They had only two days until graduation and if it was going to take the three of them working as a team to defeat the Mayor, they needed to start learning how to do just that before it was too late.


	28. Twenty-Eight

Though Faith kept prodding Buffy for information on their walk to the school, Buffy remained tightlipped and kept nodding toward Dawn who was walking more than twenty paces ahead of them.

"She has slayer hearing, as we well found out earlier. Let's just wait until we get to the library and then I can send her off to run laps or something so that we can have some privacy," Buffy explained. When Faith wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, Buffy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Not for that. God, don't you ever tire out?" 

"Nope," Faith said, smiling. She skipped around until she was in front of Buffy and began walking backwards so that she was facing her. "And like you said – I didn't really get my turn." 

"Then you'll have to take a raincheck," Buffy replied easily. "I had a dream or an epiphany; something. I need to talk to Willow about the spell that she did to make sure I'm not going crazy, but I'm pretty sure Dawn's my magically created sister and that she's here to help us." 

"Huh," Faith said thoughtfully, shifting around so that she was walking beside Buffy again. She dug her hands down deep in her pockets and kicked a rock along that was on the sidewalk. "Well that's a barrel choc full of crazy." 

"Pretty much," Buffy agreed. "Once we talk to the gang and confirm my suspicions, we should be able to make some kind of a plan. We're gonna have to start training Dawn properly." 

"But smackin' her down was kinda fun." 

"Kinda was." 

They stayed comfortably quiet for a few minutes until the school was in view. That was when Buffy felt an elbow nudge her side and looked over to see Faith grinning at her. 

"Don't think for a sec that I'm gonna let you forget about that raincheck though," the brunette said and winked. 

Buffy chuckled quietly and tried to elbow her back but Faith dodged it and skittered around, ending up a few steps in front of her. She waited there for Buffy to catch up and together they began walking once again, taking in the unusually quiet campus. 

They looked ahead and watched as Dawn climbed up the front steps of the school and followed shortly after her, making their way through the empty halls and into the library where she was already waiting for them with the others. Even Angel was there, much to Buffy's surprise. He'd worked very hard on making himself scarce ever since they'd broken up and soon he'd been gone for good, off to LA to start a new life for himself. 

She didn't really have time to delve into deep thoughts about it all now but she instantly noticed how the simple thought of it didn't sting her anymore. When she met Angel's gaze, her heart didn't do that funny little extra-beaty thing and her stomach didn't get butterflies either. At first she wondered if the lack of feelyness had to do with the spell that the witches cast, but as she looked over at Faith who casually took a seat on one of the wooden chairs next to Dawn and kicked her feet up on the table, she knew that it had nothing to do with magic. 

It was all Faith, and that very thought was unsettling enough to make her start wringing her hands as they waited for Giles to join them. 

He entered the main part of the library a few moments later, a mug of hot tea steaming away in his hand. Slowly sipping from it, he looked more tired than he had in a long time. Apocalypses tended to do that to people though. Buffy grimaced internally when she realized she had to tell him that the Mayor wasn't even the worst part of the deal. Sure they had a decent amount of time to work out the details of her dream and the blonde god that was destined to end the world, but still . . . it was just another load of stress to add to their already heaping pile. 

"Okay, so obviously we all know by now about the spell that Willow did last night," Buffy began. 

"You mean the oodles and oodles of trippy fog that put the country at Defcon: One?" Xander asked jokingly. "I vaguely remember it and thinking that mom had started the house on fire again." 

"I don't know about the spell but it's pretty obvious that Buffy likes to keep me in the dark about everything involving me," Dawn said, crossing her arms over her chest and looking defiantly up at Buffy. 

While Buffy's first response was to lash out, she took a deep breath and steeled herself. She had to remember that Dawn was her sister – even if technically she was only three days old – and that they needed her. Dawn had never been asked to play a role in this, but now Buffy had to ask her to willingly do just that. She couldn't just ask her to leave the room while the grown-ups talked about it. 

She needed to be a part of this. She already was, whether she liked it or not. 

"Not anymore I don't," Buffy said quietly, meeting Dawn's defiant glare. She then looked around the group and took another deep breath, trying to find the right way to explain it all. "Dawn is my sister." 

"Like I've been telling you all along, doofus," Dawn replied dismissively. 

Both Willow and Giles looked at one another and then back up to Buffy, confusion written across their faces. 

"But Buff," Willow began, "the spell I did . . ." 

"I know," Buffy cut her off. "And before I get even further into this, I need to ask you a question about it. Faith was all red and everyone else was all yellow, but what does green mean?" 

Willow looked to Giles and he sat forward. His interest even further piqued and he decided to answer her question though it had been directed at Willow. 

"Green is creation magic. It would indicate that something has been made, usually using earth magics with no intent of harm." 

"Then that pretty much confirms everything," Buffy said, nodding to herself. "The spell Willow did was right; you've all been affected by a memory spell." 

"That might be the case, but if we're the ones affected by a memory spell, why are you and Faith the ones who don't remember the Dawnster?" Xander asked. 

Buffy looked over to Dawn and held her gaze. 

"Because up until three days ago, Dawn didn't exist." 

Silence fell over the room until Dawn stood in a huff, her chair clattering to the floor as it tipped over behind her. 

"Liar," she said through her clenched teeth. "Why are you being so horrible to me when I've done nothing to you?" 

"I'm not lying," Buffy explained, shaking her head sadly. She really had been horrible to Dawn, that was true, but how was she supposed to know? "I had a dream last night . . ." 

"Was that before or after Faith rocked your pathetic little world?" Dawn asked. 

Buffy's eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to speak but the damage was already done. Xander, Willow, Oz and Giles - and yes, even Angel – were looking back at her with wide eyes and Xander was actually making some kind of noise in the back of his throat that made Buffy's cheeks burn bright. She looked down at Faith who was glaring at Dawn and looking like she was about ready to pounce. Knowing that she had to stop things before they evolved into some kind of all-girl wrestling match, she quickly replied. 

"Before, not that it has anything to do with this conversation. And for the record, it has _nothing_ to do with anyone here but Faith and I, and I hope everyone can respect that." Getting no argument from anyone, she cleared her throat and continued. "As I was saying, the seers from the council – the ones that sent me the vision of Faith's death – they contacted me through my dream. There was a lot of information to process and I'm still piecing it together, but the gist of it is that the seers – three witches serving a way harsh sentence for meddling with destiny – meddled again. They created the new slayer from me. Dawn. Then they did a spell to make everyone remember her so that she would fit right into everyday life and no one would know any difference." 

"And we don't remember her cos we were wearing the bracelets and were hidden from magic," Faith said rather than asked, staring down at the bracelet on her wrist as her fingers mindlessly played with it. 

"That's what I'm guessing," Buffy agreed. 

Dawn stormed away from the table they were all gathered around but didn't go far, choosing instead to stand near the book check-out counter. There was no doubt that she looked angry but underneath that, it was easy to see that she was hurt. Tears shone in her eyes but didn't fall; she was too angry to cry at that point. 

She wasn't taking the news well; she'd obviously been affected by the same spell that made her believe that she really did fit in. 

"But what reason would they have for . . . creating a person?" Giles asked, looking apologetically at Dawn as he said it. Dawn simply huffed and looked away from him. 

"Because creating her as the new slayer was the only way the council would let both Faith and I live. The seers can't directly interfere with destiny but the slayer can, and having three of us active is the only way we can save the world, apparently." 

Faith furrowed her brow at that and she shook her head, looking doubtful. 

"B, the guy might be bad news but I spent some time with the mayor, as stupid an idea as that was. He ain't on a trip for world domination, he just wants to wreak some havoc, make some people bow at his . . . well, snakes don't have feet but ya get the picture." 

"I know," Buffy replied. "But you're right – he is bad news. Maybe not world-ending news, but bad news regardless. If we beat him, we pass the first test." 

"I'm afraid to ask what the second test might be," Giles said. 

"And I'm afraid to explain it," Buffy replied. "It involves a god who wants to open a portal to her world, which unfortunately means the end of ours. Honestly, it's all really crazy and I don't understand it at all, but we have something like two _years_ to prepare ourselves. I vote that we put that whole deal on hold for now until we take out the mayor because we only have two _days_ to figure out what to do with him and we need to learn how to work together by then." 

"I for one think we already work together pretty well," Willow chimed in, trying to lighten the mood in the suddenly quiet room. 

"We do, Wills, but I didn't mean us." She looked back at Dawn who seemed to be paying closer attention now and indicated the space between them and Faith. "I mean _us_. Only together can we beat Mayor Wilkins. If we can pull this off, maybe we'll have a shot at eventually saving the world." 

"Well I vote that we stop talking about the big scary world-destroying god for now because just the very thought of it is making my bladder tremble with fright, and that story won't end up happy for anyone here," Xander said. "Buffster? What's the plan?" 

Buffy bent down and picked up Dawn's overturned chair, then sat down on it with a loud sigh. 

"That's a good question. The answer, unfortunately, isn't as good. The mayor's invincible until graduation, right? So whatever we're going to do has to happen then. There are going to be lots of innocent people around, which means that lots of innocent people are probably going to get hurt, or worse." 

"Perhaps Principal Snyder will be willing to postpone the ceremony," Giles offered. 

"And I'll suggest that to him tomorrow at rehearsal," Buffy replied. "We all can, but he already thinks we're a bunch of PCP-addicted miscreants and no way will he postpone his summer vacation without solid proof." 

"Want me to smack him around for ya?" Faith asked, her eyes gleaming with mischief. 

Buffy couldn't help but chuckle at that. In fact, Xander and Willow did too but they quickly quieted down and pretended to be invisible when they saw the look that passed between Buffy and Faith. 

"As much as I appreciate the offer, we need to save our smacking around for training. We need to work together, and it's time we start properly training Dawn." 

"Oh no you don't," Dawn said, stepping forward and getting closer to Buffy. "I have bruises on top of my bruises. I'm sick of you guys pushing me around for your entertainment." 

Faith stood up and pushed her chair in, then started walking toward the mats, indicating for Dawn to follow her. 

"Then we teach you how to push back," she said. When she noticed Dawn wasn't following her, she turned and tried to give her a friendly smile. "C'mon, kid. Slayer tip number one: Hitting is fun. Leave the research to the book-folk." 

She began walking again and Dawn finally followed after a few seconds, looking to Giles and Willow as she passed. They quietly encouraged her and even Buffy tried to give her an encouraging smile. When she was finally out of immediate earshot, Xander's chair scraped on the floor as he sat forward, trying to get conspiratorially closer. 

"So you and Faith?" he asked in a hush voice, unable to hide his huge grin. "Details. For god's sake, woman, give me details!" 

Buffy's gaze flicked over to Angel whose expression was completely unreadable – even more so than usual. 

"Uh," she began, looking back over to Xander, "all things considered, not really an appropriate topic of conversation. We'll talk about it another time in vague, very blurry detail. But for now I should probably . . ." she hiked her thumb over her shoulder in the general direction of Dawn and Faith and stood up but she didn't get very far. 

"You can join them shortly," Giles said. "I believe our first order should be to dictate and transcribe the particulars of your, erm, encounter with the seers, while it's still fresh in your memory. It's important that we record the details for future use." 

"Oh. Right. That's probably a good idea." 

She sat back down on the chair, albeit a bit reluctantly, and waited for him to begin the questioning. However, they didn't even have a chance to begin as Angel interrupted them before Giles could even flip to a new page of his notebook. 

"We should start making an actual plan for Graduation Day," he said. "There's no use in training Dawn if we don't have a plan." 

"Hey, consider me Plan Guy," Xander said excitedly, happy to finally be able to chip in. "I've got all kinds of strategy skills thanks to various video games and my stint as a military guru. Give me a basic floor plan of the graduation festivities and I can come up with a basic strategy for the worse case scenario." 

"Xander, the mayor is going to turn into a giant snake and try to destroy the town. I'm pretty sure this is the worst case scenario," Buffy said. 

"Right, so then we go full monty," he replied. 

Furrowing her brow in confusion, Buffy had to ask. "Naked?" 

"What? No, armed!" he quickly corrected. "Though if you and Faith wanted to . . ." he caught Buffy's glare and changed his tone, "weapons. We'll need weapons." 

"I'm on it," Oz said plainly. 

They all turned to him and Xander asked, "You're on it?" 

"I'm on it," Oz repeated. "I know a guy who knows a guy." At their questioning looks, he clarified: "Mailman." 

Seemingly appeased by his answer, they all settled in to get to work, Buffy looking longingly at the sparring slayers across the library and grimacing when she looked back at the table before her covered in books, papers, maps and other random clutter. Willow and Oz huddled around Xander to help him come up with a game plan while Giles looked at Buffy, eager to begin their discussion of her dream. 

Buffy looked up so see Angel step up beside her, looking down at her with unreadable eyes. 

"Could I talk to you for a minute?" he asked. When Buffy nodded but didn't move to get up, he added, "In private?" 

Buffy looked to Giles who seemed a bit perturbed at yet another interruption but got up and followed Angel to the upper stacks anyhow, catching Faith's gaze just before disappearing between the old wooden shelving. Faith didn't look mad but Buffy felt guilty regardless; she didn't know what she and Faith were to each other but walking off with her ex sure didn't look so good. 

He stopped walking a few feet away from the back of the library and turned to face Buffy who was so lost in her thoughts that she walked right into him. His hands immediately found her upper arms, trying to make sure she was okay, but she stepped back out of his embrace in a quick motion making it quite obvious that she was trying to put some distance between them. 

When his nostrils slightly flared, she silently cursed herself for not having had the time to have a longer, more thorough shower that morning. Vampire sense of smell was so intrusive into her personal business! 

"Before you say anything about _that_ ," she began, knowing fully well that Angel knew what she was speaking of, "I'm asking you to please not. It's between Faith and I, and as much as everyone seems to think they're automatically entitled to know my business, they're not. It has nothing to do with graduation which is why we're all here in the first place, so can we please just . . ." 

"I wasn't going to say anything, Buffy," Angel said easily. His face was still unreadable and that bothered Buffy to no end but she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "You're right, it's no one's business, especially mine. I gave up the right to meddle in your love life when ours came to an end." 

"Well . . ." she began awkwardly, having not expected that, "thank you, I think." 

"I was at Willy's last night after I did a sweep through the cemeteries. I'm not exactly welcome company there but I had a feeling the mayor would need some help to pull off his plan. Turns out I was right. The ceremony – it's going to blot out the sun. He's got vamps signing up to help take out anyone there who might interfere. They'll be hiding in the sewers. Once the sun goes out . . . it's gonna be a free for all, Buffy." 

His expression was pained and Buffy could tell that he wasn't mad about anything that had happened between her and Faith; he was concerned. 

Angel was scared. 

That alone was enough to make Buffy gulp. She brought her fingertips up to her temples and rubbed them gently for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and focusing. 

"Okay. The situation sounds dire – and it is – but it's not impossible. If Faith, Dawn and I can keep the mayor distracted, we just need someone to hold off the vamps." 

"I'll be there doing whatever you need," Angel replied. "I'm pretty sure I can't hold off a mob of vampires though, Buffy. We're going to need help; an army." 

Buffy opened her mouth to speak but stopped, her eyes focusing on some point down the aisle. 

An army. They needed an army but they didn't have one, and even if they could call on the actual army to help, they'd probably all be hauled in for psychiatric evaluations. They could get weapons, or at least Oz seemed to think they could. They just needed a big group of people to use them. 

Her gaze flicked back to Angel and a small smile crept up on her lips. 

"I've got it. The students. We can have them help . . ." 

"Buffy, we can't put innocent lives in danger," Angel interrupted but Buffy was quick to cut him off. 

"Their lives are already at risk, Angel. The whole town is at risk! If we give them weapons and a chance to fight for their lives, they will. It's not perfect but . . . it could work. It will work! With the vamps distracted, Faith, Dawn and I can focus on the mayor . . ." 

". . . who you still don't know how to kill," he finished for her. "Maybe it's time we start thinking about evacuating the town." 

"No," she replied, smiling as she shook her head, finding a renewed optimism. "Not yet. I think I have an idea. Come on, we need to talk to Oz and Xander and see just what kind of firepower we're looking at here." 

She began to walk down the aisle but Angel called after her, making her stop and face him once again. 

"There's something else," he said. He reached into his inner-jacket pocket and pulled out a key, then handed it over to Buffy. 

She looked down at it questioningly and then up at Angel with confusion written across her face. God, she hoped this wasn't some kind of symbolic thing. The key to his heart? How lame was that! That was so three months ago. 

"It's to my place," he explained and Buffy took a short, surprised breath. 

He wasn't actually expecting her to stop by, was he? Shouldn't he be well aware by now that anything bedroom related between them would end horribly? And besides – there was Faith. Her current rep wasn't exactly screaming 'straight'. 

"Angel, I don't think," she began, but when she looked up at him she saw that he was confused too. They continued to look at one another, equally bewildered and both wondering why the other looked so confused. 

"Willow asked me to get Faith's stuff from her old apartment," Angel explained. "Figured that with me leaving and her suddenly needing a place to stay, it kind of worked out." 

"Oh," Buffy replied, frowning one more time before finally managing a smile. "Well, uh, thank you. That's very, uh . . ." 

"Did you think I was giving that to you so you could stop by and we could . . .?" 

"No!" she quickly answered, her eyes going wide at her sudden loudness. "No. No! A world of no. I was just . . . I haven't had breakfast and I think I'm a little bit dizzy. I should . . . we should . . ." she hiked her thumb over her shoulder and laughed nervously, then held out the key. "Thanks, for this. Faith will appreciate it. I do, too. Not that we'll be appreciating it together! Well, we might actually," she said thoughtfully but jerked slightly when she remembered herself. "Oh god, what's wrong with me?" 

"No breakfast," he reminded her, a small grin playing on his lips. 

"Right!" she agreed enthusiastically. "So let's uh, get back out there so we can go over the plan and I can get something to eat." 

She laughed nervously and tried to turn again but this time Angel's hand on her wrist stopped her. She took a breath and turned to face him and was surprised to find that she was pulled into a gentle yet strong hug. It took her a moment but she eventually relaxed and closed her eyes, breathing in a scent that was distinctly Angel, masculine yet soft. It didn't feel like it used to back when she was in love with him. It didn't make her stomach twist or hear heart flutter. 

But it did feel comforting, like she was hugging Xander, and she basked in the calm for just a few moments. 

"No matter where I go, I'll always be here when you need me, Buffy. I want you to be happy, and that means you being with someone else. If that's Faith, I'm happy for you. If not, you still have my support. We're not meant to be lovers but I hope we can always be friends," Angel said quietly. 

"We can be," she replied, then looked up and gave him a grateful smile, her fingertips gently squeezing his biceps. 

With a renewed sense of strength and confidence, she stepped back from his embrace and headed back to join the others in the main part of the library with him following just a few steps behind. 

They were going to win this. 

All they had to do was figure out how.


	29. Twenty-Nine

The sound of Pomp and Circumstance filled the warm summer air as Buffy and the other graduates filed into the rows of arranged folding chairs. Parents eagerly waved and took pictures as their children passed by and Buffy found Joyce doing the same from her place in the crowd. There were no other family members there to celebrate with her but as far as Buffy was concerned as she looked around and spotted Willow, Xander, and Giles, the ones that mattered were already there.

Many of her fellow students were looking anxiously at Buffy and she tried to wordlessly reassure each and every one of them though it was impossible with the sheer number of worried gazes she was receiving as more and more filed into the rows of seats. Her maroon graduation gown was making her sweat and she wanted to open it up to get some air but that would reveal the slew of weapons she had underneath. That would be a bad thing, especially with the way that Mayor Wilkins was looking at her from his seat up on the small stage. She quickly averted her eyes and tried her best not to meet his gaze again. 

Looking instead toward the row ahead of her, she smiled at Willow who was just in front of her and over one seat. She looked nervous even though she was trying her best to keep calm and Buffy leaned forward, placing her hand on the back of Willow's chair so she could pull herself closer. 

"How are you holding up, Wills?" 

"On a scale of one to ten, I'm at maybe . . ." she looked up and pretended to calculate numbers in her head, then looked back at Buffy, ". . . four. But if it makes you feel any better, it's gone up from a two and a half since you started talking to me." 

"It does," Buffy replied, chuckling quietly before becoming serious. "Everything is gonna be fine. We've gone over the plan dozens of times. You know what you have to do, I know what I have to do; we're prepared like boy scouts – and hey, wearing equally ridiculous outfits." 

After a bit of debate at the library two days before, they'd settled on the only plan that really worked: fighting back with as much manpower – and firepower – as possible. Oz and Giles prepared weapons while Xander made a miniature-sized ‘battlefield' using a slightly modified Risk board game and some tiny army men figurines. They'd gone over possible plans again and again while Buffy and Faith trained Dawn, the sounds of their sparring echoing in the library. A plan was made, they were all given their roles . . . and sent out to recruit. 

The next day, they had to rally the troops at Graduation rehearsal. Not only that but it was a good opportunity for everyone to check out the battleground and learn the layout. 

After rehearsal had ended, Buffy rounded up all of the students in the parking lot of the school before they could leave. She told them what was happening and while a few of them dismissed her as a nutcase and left, the rest were smart enough to know to trust Buffy Summers when it came to all of the weird stuff that went on in Sunnydale. She'd never steered them wrong before, and after all, she'd saved most of them at least once at one point or another in their high school career. 

While a few students decided to take their families and skip town before anything bad could happen, the rest were willing to stand up and fight for their lives; for their homes and their future. There were a few that just wanted to stick it to the mayor and really, Buffy had no problem reaping the benefits from their problem with authority. Wrong? Probably, but she wasn't about to turn down extra help. There was a saying about looking a gift horse in the mouth but she never really understood that. 

Horse teeth were kind of scary so she didn't understand why people would want to look anyhow. 

"I kind of like them," Willow said, running her fingertips down the silky arms of her maroon graduation gown. "They feel like accomplishment." 

"Huh. There must be something wrong with mine. It mostly just feels like itchy," Buffy replied, her fingertips trying to scratch through the slippy material. "But you have to admit that the caps are just completely unnecessary." 

"True. My head feels more embarrassed than it usually does." 

A silence fell between them as they watched the rest of the graduates file into the rows, squinting into the sunlight. Xander was a few rows ahead of them and he turned around, giving them a quick nod. The whole military and strategy thing really suited him, Buffy noted; she just really hoped that he didn't get caught up in the fray. She couldn't be there to save him if she had to focus on the giant snake. 

"Have you seen Faith?" Willow asked after a few minutes. 

Buffy turned and looked toward the bleachers. She strained her eyes and focused and eventually saw the ghost of a movement beneath them and a flash of maroon. 

"She's waiting in the wings," Buffy confirmed quietly. She quickly looked up to the stage to see if the mayor was watching her but he was busy being schmoozed by the head of the PTA. 

"And Dawnie?" 

"In position, or at least I hope she is. She couldn't stop fretting in the mirror this morning. It would have been entertaining if she wasn't still giving me a case of the heebie-jeebies," Buffy replied, smirking a little. 

"And jeebieness aside, everything's okay at the good old Summers house?" Willow hinted. 

"Right as rain," Buffy replied, then frowned a little. "Why is rain right, anyway?" 

Willow giggled but tried again, a little less subtle this time. "So if things are good at home, and we make it through today . . ." 

"We will." 

". . . will Faith be taking up permanent residence? And are you ever going to take that bracelet off?" 

Buffy looked down at her wrist which she'd been absently itching and quickly pulled the big maroon sleeve over her irritated skin. 

"Faith's been quiet," Buffy said sounding somewhat confused. "It could be because mom's been making her stay on the couch since Dawn spilled the beans on . . . well, you know." 

"I actually don't know. I say that once we beat the bad guys, we go for mochas so you can tell me all about it. I feel like I'm slacking in my best friend duties. I didn't even know you were a fan of the ladies! I may need to brush up on my best friend observation skills." 

Buffy laughed quietly and shook her head. 

"We'll talk once the dust settles, I promise. But no, I think Faith will be taking Angel up on staying at his place. She said she needs her own space, whatever that means." 

Willow nodded, deciding to save that talk for mochas. "And Dawn?" 

Looking down at her wrist again, Buffy shrugged a little. 

"If she comes through today, I guess I owe it to her to take the bracelet off. It feels weird though, kind of like I'm signing myself up to be brainwashed. But Faith and I are the only ones who haven't drank from the well, so . . ." she trailed off, leaving it at that. 

Now it was Willow's turn to frown, only this time in confusion. She opened her mouth to ask what Buffy was speaking about but the sound of the tapping and feedback through the speakers surrounding the stage caught their attention. Wincing, Willow turned around and Buffy sat back in her chair, ready for this thing to finally start. 

Waiting for a quasi-apocalypse sure did suck. 

Principal Snyder was at his spot at the podium, surveying the students with his usual sneer in place. 

"Congratulations to the class of 1999. You all proved more or less adequate. This is a time of celebration, so: sit still and be quiet." Something seemed to catch his eye and he looked over toward a student in the front row. "Spit out that gum. Please welcome our distinguished guest speaker: Richard Wilkins III." 

The crowd began to clap and Buffy's eyes narrowed when she saw Mayor Wilkins stand up from his seat and shake Snyder's squirly little hand. He took his spot at the podium and smiled as he looked over the crowd, his gaze briefly meeting Buffy's before flicking through his cue cards and beginning his speech. 

Buffy frowned as he spoke, knowing that beyond the kind and cheerful words and the false smile was a man intent on wreaking havoc on the town he claimed to love so much. She actually didn't even know if he was still a man; after all, whatever rituals he'd had to do prior to the ceremony had to have changed him at least a little. 

Most men weren't invincible. 

She tried to pay attention and caught him in the middle of his speech. Willow looked back at her and rolled her eyes. God, couldn't he just ascend already? 

". . . journey's end. And what is a journey? Is it just . . . distance traveled? Time spent? No. It's what happens on the way; it's the things that happen to you. At the end of the journey, you're not the same." 

Feeling suddenly and unexpectedly touched by that part of the speech, Buffy turned her head and looked back towards the bleachers. She focused and eventually saw a small movement – Faith's fingers stretching up to get her attention. Buffy smiled and Faith nodded, then disappeared back into the shadows to wait for her cue. 

Buffy faced forward again, not wanting to give away Faith's location, and found herself lost in thought once again. The past year really had been a journey for her. She thought she'd never recover from having to kill Angel – and then he was back. Then Faith was there, then Faith was playing for the bad guys, and somewhere between all of that Buffy had realized that she didn't need Angel. 

That it just couldn't work with him. 

She could never really dwell on that too much though because she'd been too busy dwelling on Faith's defection to the Mayor. It had bothered her more than she thought it should have, but now she knew why: 

It was because she _cared._

She cared about Faith, and in an odd turn of events, she cared for her more than a friend. Maybe that was why they had never gotten along – too many feelings, not enough courage to deal with them. 

Buffy Summers – brave enough to face a giant snake demon but not her feelings for another girl. 

She chuckled quietly to herself and kept smiling softly as she thought about Faith and of how things came to be between them. She only hoped that things would continue on as they were. She'd finally had the courage to admit her own feelings for Faith, even if it had only been to herself. Would Faith have the courage to stay and admit it as well? 

Her graduation wish was that when the coming battle was over and the dust had a chance to settle, that Faith would still be there. That whatever had been going on between them would continue and that they could see what the future held for them – together. 

God, that cabin in Montana had made her _so_ gay. 

A sudden shadow crossing overhead got Buffy's attention and she – and everyone else in the crowd – looked up at the quickly darkening sky. In a matter of seconds the shadow moved over the sun, blocking its rays. Day turned into night before their very eyes and parents and families gasped from the stands. While they remained transfixed by what was happening in the sky, Buffy looked over to the mayor to see him flinching in pain. 

This was it. It was beginning. 

Still, Mayor Wilkins tried to continue his speech, grunting in pain as he did so. 

"And so as we look back on . . . ahh! . . . on the events that brought us to this day . . ." he took a deep breath and looked toward the crowd. Everyone was now intently watching him, momentarily forgetting about the lack of sun. "We . . . we must all . . ." 

He screamed aloud and Buffy stood up, her intense gaze focused directly on him. The students looked from her to the Mayor and back, waiting for their cue. 

"It has begun. My destiny," Mayor Wilkins said, smiling. "It's a little sooner than I expected. I had this whole section on civic pride . . . but I guess we'll just skip to the big finish!" 

His features began to shift and change and Buffy reached into her maroon gown, pulling a sharp blade from it. The mayor was too busy grossly morphing to notice it but she held up the knife and yelled, "Now!" 

All of the students immediately stood up from their seats, pulling off their gowns to reveal a plethora of axes, stakes, small crossbows and knives. No sooner than they were ready with weapons in hand did they see a swarm of vampires strolling around the corner and headed right to them. 

Buffy looked over her shoulder to see Angel walking down the steps with a few students behind him, all wielding weapons and ready to jump into the fray. He nodded at her and then looked over her shoulder, his eyes growing wide. Noticing his change in demeanor, Buffy turned around to see the mayor fully morphed into his full demonic form. 

The picture in the book hadn't even begun to do the creepiness of the giant snake any justice. It had rows and rows of sharp teeth, looked kind of like a dragon, and it was even bigger than they could have imagined. 

"Oh god, is this still going to work?" she asked, her eyes wide. 

By now Xander and Oz were at her side, along with Willow and Cordelia. 

"The plan is solid, Buff," Xander replied, undeterred by the giant snake before them. "It's a bit bigger than we planned but . . . yeah, solid plan is solid. Angel's got the vamp situation in check for the next few minutes and we've got Willow's back. Parents are being escorted out as we speak. You ready to get the horribly ugly and terrifying snake?" 

"If I have to, though I have to admit, I'm feeling very Indiana Jones here," Buffy said with a nervous smile. Her demeanor suddenly changing, she took a deep breath and yelled, "Flamethrowers, now!" 

Several students in the front row threw their seats out of the way to reveal flamethrowers and weapons that they'd stored there earlier in the day. They geared up and immediately began bathing the giant snake in huge plumes of flame. It twisted and turned and tried to escape the heat but couldn't get far in the small area it was temporarily contained in. 

Without warning it slunk down through the flames and grabbed one of the students in its terrifying mouth, biting him in half and swallowing him down easily. Students began to scream and run away, only to come face to face with the vampires that had broken through Angel's line. 

"Buff, it's now or never!" Xander warned. 

"Willow, get moving, now!" Buffy replied. 

Willow nodded and quickly moved over to a table that hadn't yet been knocked over. She climbed up onto it and sat Indian-style, trying to find a sense of peace as Xander, Cordelia, and Oz surrounded the table to protect her from oncoming attacks. It was then that Buffy saw a flash of shiny maroon fabric run past them from the bleachers and toward the snake. Knowing that everyone else had removed their maroon gowns, she knew exactly who it was. 

_Faith._

"Hey boss!" Faith yelled when she was close enough for the mayor to see. 

"Faithy?" he asked, the mayor's usual voice sounding comical coming from the mouth of the giant snake. "You're . . . alive. I know a certain few lying vampires who are going to lose their jobs when this is all over." 

"You tried to kill me," Faith said, ignoring the lightness in his tone. Her jaw was clenched tight and her eyes flashed dangerously. The knife he'd given her was held in her crushing grip, glistening in the orange light from the flamethrowers. 

"It was all business," he replied. The flames licking at his now coarse skin again, the mayor began to writhe and whipped his tail around, crushing a student in the process. 

"And this is all revenge." Her voice was low and dangerous and even if the mayor had seen the attack coming, he didn't have the chance to react. 

Holding the knife by the blade, Faith pulled her arm back and threw it at the giant snake, a cruel smile appearing on her face when it impaled directly in his right eye. Letting out a loud roar that sent most of the remaining students wielding the flamethrowers running, the snake began to writhe and whip around until the knife dislodged and fell to the ground with a clatter. The damage was done though; he was blinded in one eye – and suitably pissed off. 

The plan was working so far. Then again, pissing off the giant snake demon was probably the easiest part of the plan; it was what came next that would be the tricky part. 

Shaking his head, the snake snarled as it looked over at Faith. 

"You are in some serious need of discipline, young lady!" 

"Faith, go. Now!" Buffy yelled. 

And for once, Faith listened to her. 

Hopping over fallen chairs and tables, Faith made her way across the area and headed toward the school, the snake hot on her heels. Buffy had to fight every instinct not to run after them but that wasn't part of the plan. Instead, she ran off in the opposite direction, taking one last glance back at the chaos in the courtyard before letting herself into an unlocked door on the side of the school. She caught sight of the giant snake barreling down the hall headed in the opposite direction, its huge body crushing lockers and display cases as it moved along. 

Buffy paused and winced; trashing yet another school so wasn't going to look good on her college transcripts! 

Letting it go for now, she moved to run up the set of stairs in front of her to the second floor but had to stop and shield her eyes at the sudden bright light coming from the courtyard. With her forearm over her forehead, she peeked outside to see a huge glowing ball of fire hovering above Willow's head. It was the size of a discoball and just as festive. The best part, was, that it was hot as the sun and just as bright, and every single vampire in the yard – save for Angel who had slipped into the sewers – burnt up to a crisp. 

The students began to clap and cheer but Buffy didn't have time to celebrate. Instead, she pulled something out from under her maroon gown and tossed it on her head, haphazardly adjusting it as she began to run up the steps. 

She was running late! 

* * *

Faith was breathing hard as she ran across the gymnasium and headed toward the back halls. She looked down at her watch and, shaking her head a little, picked up her pace. She could hear the mayor tearing through the halls and covered her head when he burst into the gym behind her, sending debris flying everywhere. Not stopping to look how close he was, she barreled out into the hall and smiled as she ran past another person wearing a maroon gown. 

"Good luck!" she yelled, then took off up a set of stairs to the second floor. 

* * *

The mayor burst through the gym doors and out into yet another hallway. This one wasn't wrecked so he obviously hadn't been down it yet. He looked left for signs of Faith, then right. Standing just five feet away from him was a young girl in a maroon graduation gown. With one eye out of commission and drywall and brick dust blurring the vision of the other, he had to squint to see her properly. 

"You're not my Faith," he said dubiously. 

"Nope," Dawn replied, grinning manically. "But she _did_ teach me how to hit." 

Without warning Dawn stepped forward and gave him a massive uppercut under what could only be construed as his jaw. While a normal punch wouldn't have fazed the huge demon, this wasn't a normal punch. 

It was a _slayer_ punch. 

And it had delivered a sharp metal canister into his flesh. 

The mayor howled in pain and threw himself against a wall which gave Dawn ample time to begin to climb the stairs that Faith had just gone up. She waited at the top of the stairwell for him and when he appeared at the bottom, she took off running. "You are sorely in need of a lesson in manners, little missy!" 

He immediately gave chase and began to barrel after her down the hall. Empty classrooms passed by on either side of them. He could smell her fear – or maybe that was just the Chem lab they passed – and he used all of his strength to close the gap between them. Just as he was sure he could get his teeth around her, a flash of maroon caught his eye from a classroom to his left. Confused, he slowed down . . . and that was when he felt the stinging bite of another metal canister being plunged into his skin, this time along his side. 

Again he howled in pain and stopped moving, not nearly as preoccupied as he had been about catching the young girl he'd been chasing as he was on chomping the arms off of whoever had hit him with the second canister. He tried to turn around in the too-narrow hallway and had to settle for taking out the wall to his side. When he was facing the other way, he saw the girl running down the hall just twenty feet ahead of him. 

She turned around and grinned . . . then popped him the finger. 

Oh yeah, that had to be Faith. 

Taking off at top speed, he followed her to the end of the hall and down yet another stairwell. He was gaining on her, that much was clear to him, but when she ran through the double doors of the library, he winced a little; busting through that big heavy doorframe was sure to give him a headache. 

He crashed through them just a few moments after her and found himself in the middle of the library, looking up at two girls holding what looked like giant harpoon guns. Both were brunette . . . but neither were Faith. He studied both girls and, while he couldn't identify Dawn, he could tell that the other was Buffy Summers in one of the most god-awful wigs he'd ever seen. 

"Well color me embarrassed," he said. "I'd blame my marred eye for mistaking you as my Faith but I'll be honest – I was so blinded by murderous rage that I wouldn't have noticed anyhow." 

"Speaking of blind," came a voice from behind him and the mayor turned just in time to see another fist flying at his face, holding yet another canister. 

It pierced his other eye and he began to thrash around, sending Faith flying over and into a gigantic book shelf against the wall. She slid down it like a ragdoll, an avalanche of books coming down around her semi-conscious form. 

"Dawn, now!" Buffy yelled. 

They simultaneously shot the harpoon guns, sending huge metal prongs across the space and right through the giant snake's torso, keeping him anchored to the middle area of the library. The metal lines attached to the prongs went taut as Buffy and Dawn pulled, walking back towards one of the back windows. 

"Faith!" Buffy called. 

When Faith didn't reply, Buffy held her gun out to Dawn who looked at her warily. 

"Can you hold both?" 

"I can try," Dawn replied. "But I'm not going without you guys." 

"You have to," Buffy said. She met Dawn's gaze and for once, there was no hostility or anger or resentment; just concern. "I'll get Faith and go out the side window. Now take the guns and get out of here. The plan is still on. This is our only chance to kill him!" 

"But Buffy . . ." Dawn tried but Buffy cut her off. 

"Go!" 

Sighing, Dawn hopped out of the opened window while Buffy ran across the library, trying to avoid the mayor's writhing body. His loud howling was deafening and it took all she had not to cover her ears as she yanked Faith out of the pile of books. Faith's head swayed side to side and her eyes were mostly closed; if she wasn't passed out already, she was about to. 

"Come on, Faith. We have to get out of here, now!" 

Faith tried to stand but her legs just didn't seem to work. Supporting their combined weight on her own shaky legs, Buffy walked them over to the side window and broke it with her elbow, then used her maroon sleeve to clear the shards of glass away. She helped Faith up onto the sill and practically pushed her out as she saw a blue spark slowly traveling down the length of the metal wire line and towards the giant snake. 

Eyes wide, Buffy dived head first out of the window as the library burst into flames behind her.


	30. Thirty

Buffy barely managed to get her body out of the window before the blue sparks traveling down the metal wires reached the mayor and triggered the detonators of the silver canisters embedded in his skin. His mutilated eyes widened and he managed to say, "Well . . . darn!" before exploding into a million pieces, taking down a huge chunk of the school with him in a burny mess.

A heap of bricks and debris fell over Buffy and Faith who remained buried by the rubble for almost an hour before shouting could be heard above them. Buffy kept Faith tight against her, trying to protect the unconscious girl as best as she could. They were safe from the flames thanks to Willow who had conjured a last minute rain spell; they just had to wait for help to get to them. She kept pressing her lips to Faith's temple and whispering reassurances that everything was okay, but whether that was for her benefit or Faith's, she wasn't sure; it wasn't like Faith was awake to hear her anyhow. 

It was Angel who reached them first, the smoke and dust not affecting him like it did everyone else. Buffy tiredly took his hand and let him lift her up and into the open air and to her waiting friends. The sun was still blocked by shadows and rain clouds but Buffy wasn't worried about it too much. It was already starting to get dark outside anyway. If the sun didn't rise the next morning, they could deal with it then. 

For now, it was time to just . . . breathe. 

Finally getting a lungful of fresh air, she began to cough and splutter, ash-filled water drops leaking down over her dirty face from her brown wig. She pulled it off and tossed it to the side, then watched anxiously as Angel dug through the debris. An immediate sense of relief washed over her when Faith surfaced looking dirty and tired but alive nonetheless – and finally conscious again. 

That was it. They had made it out alive. 

Some students had been lost and Buffy was sure she'd mourn them all, but the mayor was dead and his vampires were gone. It was time to just be human again; to celebrate their graduation and pick up the pieces of their lives that had been disrupted by the events of the past few months. 

"We did it, Buffy," Willow said excitedly. Her hair and clothes were wet – in fact, everyone standing around the debris of the high school was soaked to the bone – but they all looked so incredibly happy. 

They had every right to be! 

"You guys were awesome," Buffy replied, smiling softly. She turned to Dawn who was standing beside Giles and smiled even more. "You did good, Dawn." 

"Please, you were so lucky I was there to save your scrawny little butt. I did amazing," Dawn corrected, then directed her attention to the entire group. "So do you think that if I keep wearing this gown and swipe one of the diplomas from the rubble that I can stop going to school?" 

"I don't think so," Joyce cut in, stopping to wrap her arms around Dawn and kiss the top of her head. She then made her way over to Buffy, stumbling a bit over the debris, and put her hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. "I'm so proud of you, Buffy." 

"Because we won or because I graduated?" 

Joyce shrugged a little bit and laughed. "Take your pick, honey. How's Faith?" 

Buffy turned so that she could ask Faith that very question herself. She looked left, then right, then behind Angel's ridiculously big trench coat, but she was nowhere to be found. 

"I think the better question is - where's Faith?" Buffy said. "Did anyone see where she went?" 

They all looked around at one another and shook their heads no, except for Cordelia. 

"She hobbled off while you were all congratulating yourselves for blowing up the school. I'll have you know that I still had a pair of shoes in there. I'll never get those back now." 

"Wait, you saw her leaving and you didn't say anything?" Buffy asked, irritated. 

Cordelia raised her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that babysitting slayers who are perfectly capable of protecting themselves was one of my job duties today." 

"Cordy," Xander began but Buffy shook her head and stopped him. 

"No, it's okay, Xander. She's right. I should probably go and look for Faith though. She might have a concussion. It's not safe for her to be just wandering around town." 

"Not a town like Sunnydale," Giles agreed. He reached down in the debris and pulled out a crushed diploma, then straightened it out as best as possible before handing it over to Buffy. "I believe you've earned that, Buffy. Perhaps once you've found Faith and, erm, settled any issues, we might be able to celebrate the occasion." 

"That sounds like a great idea," Joyce agreed. "You're all invited over tonight. We'll have a big dinner and maybe a toast or two with the sparkling cider I've been saving for a special occasion." 

"I'd say this is a special occasion," Xander said. "Special and horrifying. I think I just stepped on someone's face." 

He grimaced and began wiping the bottom of his shoe off on a splintered two-by-four nearby. Everyone else grimaced and Oz looked over curiously at the nearly unrecognizable pile of mush near their side. 

"Do we know who it is?" Willow asked, taking a big step back. 

"Bald spot. Frown. Definitely Snyder," Oz confirmed, joining Willow a few feet away. 

"Buffy, do you think we should do something with him?" Willow asked. 

When no answer came, they all looked up to see that Buffy was nowhere to be found. Her maroon gown was draped carelessly over the debris with the diploma balancing precariously atop it. Joyce bent down and picked the wrinkled parchment up, then smiled out across the schoolyard where Buffy had likely passed by just moments before. 

* * *

Buffy didn't need to focus on her slayer connection to find Faith this time; she knew exactly where she'd run off to. Faith had really only ever had one place of her own since she came to Sunnydale – her apartment from the mayor – and that was where Buffy found her nearly twenty minutes later. 

The door to the apartment was ajar and Buffy listened quietly from the hallway before pushing it open the rest of the way and walking inside. She was only a few steps in when she spotted Faith sitting at the elevated area in front of the big windows. Her feet were dangling off the ledge and her elbows were on the rail, a beer bottle perched between her hands. She had only a fuzzy black towel wrapped around her body and her hair was wet, a clear sign that she'd had a shower. 

Her gaze met Buffy's and she held up her beer bottle in toast, then tipped it back and took a few sips. 

Buffy walked closer and closer until she was only a step or two away and then stopped, her eyes searching Faith's. 

"You left," she said. 

Faith shrugged. "Job was done and I needed a shower. Figured it was a good time to split." 

Buffy reached out and gently touched the swollen bruise on Faith's forehead, her fingertips just barely brushing against her skin. 

"You could have a concussion. Going off on your own probably wasn't the best of ideas." 

"I'm fine," Faith said quietly, tilting her neck to the side just a little so that Buffy was no longer touching her. "But most of my shit's gone. That well and truly blows." 

Buffy winced a little; god, with the craziness of the last two days, she'd never told her about Angel's plan! 

"Actually, it's not gone. It's just moved." At Faith's raised eyebrow, Buffy continued. "Angel's leaving for LA today. You wanted your stuff out of here and seeing as that his place was going to be vacant, he thought it would be a good idea to put it there. For you. Because you'll need it, and you can use it. There. At his place, which is now yours." 

And when exactly had things gone back to awkward between them? Buffy held her breath, waiting for some kind of reaction from Faith. Every new second was more awkward then the one before it and just when Buffy thought she was going to burst, Faith took a deep breath and finished off her bottle of beer, then set it down beside her on the ledge. 

"So he took all my underoos but left my beer? Guy needs a priority check," Faith said. The corners of her lips curled up in the tiniest of smiles and Buffy let herself smile back, feeling some of the awkwardness ease away. 

"Is that why you're wearing that complete lack of outfit?" 

Faith shrugged. "It was this, the shower curtain, or my dirty clothes." 

"And the towel won because?" 

"Because my clothes have chunks of mayor on them, B," Faith said with a wry smile. 

"Oh, right," Buffy said, shaking her head a little when she realized that. "That." 

She walked slowly around and up the small steps up to the raised area and slowly sat down next to Faith, leaving nearly a foot of space between them. Faith continued to look forward out into the apartment, an unreadable expression on her face. Buffy sat quietly for a few minutes, waiting for Faith to take the initiative to say something. When it started feeling awkward again, Buffy decided to initiate. 

"Is that why you're here?" she asked quietly. 

Faith looked over at her, confused. "Is what why I'm here?" 

"The mayor," Buffy replied and Faith looked away again. "Are you here because you're sad that he's really gone?" 

"Fuck no," Faith replied. "As much as I try to twist it in my mind to make the picture prettier, it just ain't. He used me, he tried to kill me . . . and now he's dead. Bitch deserved it." 

"I can't disagree with you there," Buffy said quietly, her smile falling when she saw that Faith wasn't sharing her smile. "So if it's not him, what is this?" 

"What's what?" Faith asked easily but Buffy could hear the effort behind her words; she was trying to keep her emotions in check. 

"This," Buffy replied. "Faith, we've been stuck to each other's side for over two weeks now. Why did you just take off like that?" 

Faith ducked her head under the rail and hopped down from the ledge, moving over to sit on the edge of the bed. It was one of the only few items left in the mostly bare room. She looked up at Buffy and shrugged, the perfect picture of nonchalance. 

Buffy could tell she was anything but. 

"I guess it's cos we don't need to be stuck to each other anymore, B. Mayor's dead, Council's off my back; the danger's gone. We can go on with our merry lives now, right?" 

Buffy immediately felt her heart sink. She always knew they'd move on; she just kind of figured that they'd be moving on _together_. Everything that had happened between them up until that point had kind of hinted at that, at least. Or had she been reading things wrong? 

Was she just another notch on Faith's bedpost? Had every feeling that had passed between them been a lie? 

She couldn't speak for Faith but she knew it hadn't been on her part. She really did have feelings for Faith. 

"Yeah, I guess we can," Buffy said. She chewed on her bottom lip a little but then looked up at Faith again. "I guess I just kind of thought that things would be different now. Between us, I mean." 

"Well ain't they?" Faith asked with a shrug. "I mean here we are, totally not tryin' to kill each other. I'd say that's an improvement." 

"That's not what I mean and you know it," Buffy said quietly, her voice just above a whisper. Faith held her gaze and Buffy was sure that she saw something in her eyes but Faith was fighting it. 

Faith shook her head and looked away. 

"We had a good time together, B, not gonna deny that. You're wicked hot and I probably owe my life to ya ten times over, but my life really ain't worth all that much so I'm just gonna say let's call it even for now. Point is, there's nothing forcing us together anymore. You're gonna spend the summer with your friends and have a great time, and I'm gonna do . . . what I do. You don't have to keep taking pity on me and . . ." 

"It's not pity," Buffy interrupted. She slipped down off of the ledge and walked slowly over to Faith . . . then proceeded to pace manically in front of her. "God, it's so not pity. It would be easier if it was. I wouldn't have to worry about this sudden gayness, or maybe it's just a you-ness, but regardless, it's a 'ness' and I have to deal with it. But what I'm feeling?" She stopped pacing and looked directly at Faith. "It's not easy and it's a little bit scary, but it's definitely not pity." 

Faith regarded her for a moment and then swallowed loudly, seemingly making a conscious effort to remember to blink as they stared at one another. 

"Then what is it?" she asked. "Tell me what it is, B, cos I have no fuckin' idea. This thing?" She stood up and pointed to the area over her heart. "The only thing it's ever done is pumped blood around my body, usually to parts down south that usually get me in trouble anyhow." 

"Faith," Buffy began but now it was Faith's turn to pace. 

"But then there you were, tellin' me that you were gonna keep me safe and BAM! It starts doin' the fucked up little twitchin' thing that it used to do back when . . ." she stopped speaking and looked up into Buffy's eyes, then shook her head and continued. "And then there was kissin' and other shit, and yeah – blood pumping south big time – but it was still doin' the fucked up little twitchy thing." 

"That's a good thing, Faith," Buffy assured her, but Faith wasn't buying it. 

"How can that possibly be a good thing? Nothing good can come from fucked up little twinges in my chest that make my heart hurt and my head all confused." 

"Well, something good obviously came from it because I've been feeling the exact same thing and I'm pretty sure it means that I'm falling for you, Faith. That I fell for you. And that there's nothing more that I wish right now than for that towel to start doing some falling too." 

Faith went from looking panic-stricken one moment to amused the next. She grinned a little bit and ran her thumb under the towel at her chest. 

" _That's_ what you want most right now?" 

"Well," Buffy thought about it for a second, "maybe second most. What I'd most like is for you to admit that you feel the same way so that we can make that towel falling a reality." 

Faith continued running her thumb under the top of the towel, her smile faltering a little the longer the silence between them lasted. 

"Is that what it's gonna take?" she finally asked. 

"Yeah-huh," Buffy said easily. 

But Faith's hand suddenly snagged on the towel and when she looked down, she saw the hemp bracelet tangled up in an errant loose string. She freed it from the black thread and then smiled wryly once again, holding up her hand for Buffy to see. 

"What if it's all part of the magic, B? What if we take off these bracelets and the niceness and the fucked up little heart thing go away?" 

"It won't," Buffy answered simply. 

"But how can you know that? How can anyone know that?" 

Without any further ado, Buffy looked down and yanked the hemp bracelet off of her own arm, haphazardly tossing it down onto the floor. A yellow haze suddenly surrounded and was absorbed by her body and she smiled, meeting Faith's gaze again. 

"Because I was already staring to feel it before we even left Sunnydale." 

Faith opened her mouth to say something but instead stopped herself and looked down at her wrist. She stared at it very hard, then looked up at Buffy and smiled a little. 

"Ah, fuck it." 

She grabbed onto the bracelet and yanked it off of her arm, then closed the space between them and pulled Buffy into her arms, kissing her long and deep. Buffy sighed into her mouth, letting Faith direct the kiss . . . and the two of them down onto the bed. Buffy smiled against her lips and Faith pulled back, smiling at her. 

"So F . . . was it the bracelet?" Buffy asked with a grin. 

"Nah. Pretty sure it's all you, B." 

"It's all _us_ ," Buffy corrected. 

"Well can ya blame us? We're hot chicks with superpowers." 

"Can't blame us at all." 

Chuckling, Faith leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on her lips, then on both of her cheeks, and then on her chin. Buffy felt the twinge in her heart and the tickle in her stomach and she knew that she'd been right; that it had nothing to do with the magic but everything to do with them. 

When Faith leaned up, Buffy couldn't help but stare into her sparkling brown eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and she smiled, the scratchy material of Faith's towel tickling her skin where her shirt had ridden up. 

"I think I kind of love you," she said in wonder. 

"Yeah, well if we're gonna keep stickin' around each other, ya better," Faith replied, then laughed when Buffy pinched her side. "Fine, fine. I get the message, ya punk." 

"Oh, _I'm_ the punk?" Buffy asked, unable to help her laughter. 

"Yup. Pretty sure there was some talk of towel removing yet here I sit, fully . . ." suddenly Faith frowned a little, then grinned when she felt the obvious breeze over her bare backside. She looked down between them to see that she was indeed naked and that Buffy was holding the towel off to the side. "Yo, I didn't even feel anything. How'd you do that?" 

"Oh, it was just a little sleight of hand," Buffy said cockily, making Faith laugh aloud. "You should stick with me. I can teach you all kinds of cool things." 

"But not as cool as cooking Spaghettios right in the tin can." 

"Well no, that was cooler than even _I_ can contend with." 

"Speaking of Spaghettios," Faith began, "I think we earned ourselves a vacation. Think Montana will have us back?" 

"Well, we have another apocalypse to deal with, but that's like two years and many stress wrinkles away. A vacation _does_ sound nice, and I don't think Montana exactly has a choice. We'll just go there and make it our bitch if it gives us a hard time." 

"Hot. I ever tell ya it makes me kinda horny when you swear?" 

"Lately it makes you horny when I blink, Faith." 

"True. Yunno what B?" 

"What, F?" 

"I think I kinda love you too." 

Smiling softly, Buffy slipped her fingers over Faith's shoulders, up her neck, and to the sides of her face where she gently held her. Her thumbs traced over Faith's lips and Faith gave them a soft kiss. She felt her breath catch in her throat and she totally had to ignore the little twitchy thing her heart was doing again. 

"And that right there is the best magic ever," she said and then pulled Faith down until their lips met in the gentlest of kisses. 

They'd defied the odds, beaten death, and had changed fate all by sticking together. Buffy knew in her heart that they'd be able to beat anything that life or magic threw at them in the future. 

Together they could take on any twist of fate. 

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank everyone who read this, either for the first time ever or for the first time in a long time. Your comments and kudos have meant a lot to me. I had originally planned a sequel to this story, tentatively titled Twist of Fate, but I just never got around to it. If it's something you'd be interested in reading if I can get my brain into writing mode again, let me know!


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